STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN; 


OK, 


TWO  YEARS  AFTER 


BY 


'WILLIAM    A.    HAMMOND, 

AUTHOR  OF  "LAX,"  "DOCTOR  GRATTAN,"  "MR.  OLDMIXON,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK  : 
D.     APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

1,  3,  AND  5  BOND  STREET. 

1385. 


COPYRIGHT,  1885, 
BY  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


All  rights  reserved. 


fff&ff 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER.  PAGE 

I.  RETROSPECTIONS 5 

II.  A  FAMILY  DINNER 29 

III.  A  POLITICAL  MEETING 45 

IV.  Miss  BREMEN  SPEAKS 61 

V.  Miss  BILLY'S  BOMBSHELL 80 

VI.  DOUBTS  ARE  DISSIPATED 97 

VII.  AN  ELECTION  AND  ITS  RESULT 122 

VIII.  THEODORA  DECIDES 144 

IX.  A  JOKE  OR  A  CRIME  ? 164 

X.  A  SOCIETY  QUESTION.  ...  186 

XI.  A  BEGINNING  AND  AN  END 208 

XII.  INFATUATION 228 

XIII.  A  DECLARATION  AND  ITS  CONSEQUENCES 249 

XIV.  A  DISAPPEARANCE.  .  268 


101769 


IV  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER.  PAG* 

XV.  MB.  SCOTT 289 

XVI.  REFLECTIONS 312 

XVII.  MACHINATIONS.  . . , 330 

XVIII.  A  TERREBLE  WOMAN , 350 

XIX.  INVESTIGATION 372 

XX.  THE  WILES  OP  THE  TEMPTER 391 

XXI.  CONSOLATIONS 411 

XXII.  LOSSES 427 

XXIII.  DISCOVERIES 448 

XXIV.  A  MEETING 468 

XXV.  "  ALL'S  WELL  THAT  ENDS  WELL  " .488 


A  STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 


CHAPTEE    1. 

RETROSPECTIONS. 

IT  was  on  the  first  day  of  November,  1874,  that  a 
merry  party  was  assembled  in  the  drawing-room  of  one 
of  the  most  elegant  houses  in  Fifth  Avenue,  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  The  company,  as  regarded  sex,  was  very 
unequally  divided  ;  for  while  there  was  present  only  one 
representative  of  the  male  part  of  the  human  family, 
there  were  no  less  than  five  members  of  that  portion 
which  is,  as  science  has  determined,  if  not  the  more 
numerous,  certainly  the  more  important. 

The  time  was  a  few  minutes  before  seven  in  the  even- 
ing, and  the  occasion  was  the  forty-second  anniversary 
of  the  entrance  of  the  master  of  the  house,  the  only  man 
present,  into  this  "  vale  of  tears."  It  was  a  family 
party,  and  each  individual  member  of  it  was  waiting, 
with  more  or  less  impatience,  for  the  French  butler  to 
make  his  appearance  at  the  door,  and  to  announce  with 
a  profound  bow  that  "  Madame  est  servie." 

While  they  are  in  this  state  of  expectancy,  the  oppor- 
tunity may  be  taken  to  bring  them  more  prominently 
before  the  reader. 

First,  there  is  Geoffrey  Moultrie,  whose  birthday  is 
being  celebrated.  Educated  at  the  School  of  Mines,  at 


6  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Freiberg,  he  had  begun  life  as  a  civil  and  mining  engi- 
neer. In  this  capacity  he  had  done  some  very  important 
work  in  Poland,  Russia,  South  America,  Mexico,  and 
the  United  States,  and  had  in  consequence,  and  by 
judicious  investments  in  stocks  that  owed  all  their  value 
to  his  energy  and  skill,  acquired  a  large  fortune.  His 
first  wife  was  a  Polish  princess  of  a  poor  but  ancient 
family,  whose  brother,  being  one  of  the  engineer  corps 
engaged  with  Moultrie  under  the  latter's  father  in  the 
construction  of  a  railway  near  their  castle,  had  intro- 
duced him  to  his  family.  After  some  objections  on  the 
part  of  certain  of  the  relatives,  on  the  ground  that  for  a 
daughter  of  the  House  of  Lutomski  to  marry  an  obscure 
American  engineer  would  be  a  disgrace  such  as  no  other 
member  of  the  family  had  ever  incurred,  the  attachment 
between  the  young  people  was  allowed  to  advance  as  far 
as  the  state  of  matrimony.  This  result  was  hastened,  if 
not  entirely  brought  about,  by  the  fact  that  the  proposed 
marriage  met  with  the  emphatic  approval  of  the  Czar, 
Alexander  the  Second,  who  had  not  long  previously 
ascended  the  throne,  and  who  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to 
young  Moultrie  ;  and  that  inquiry  had  shown  that  the 
family  of  the  American  gentleman  was  quite  as  old  and 
as  notable  as  that  of  the  Lutomskis.  Indeed,  while  the 
celebrity  of  the  latter  was  entirely  confined  to  their  own 
country,  and  had  never  passed  into  the  domain  of  written 
history,  that  of  Moultrie  not  only  went  back  to  one 
Geoffrey  de  Moultrie,  who  came  over  with  the  Con- 
queror, but  stood  high  on  the  roll  of  those  that  had  be- 
come famous  in  his  native  land. 

Soon  after  his  marriage  Moultrie  and  his  young  bride 
had  departed  for  Western  Kansas,  where  he  had  large 
interests,  and  where  his  daughter  Lalage  was  born. 


RETROSPECTIONS.  7 

Here,  however,  the  good  fortune  which  had  heretofore 
characterized  his  life  was  interrupted.  The  child,  while 
yet  an  infant  only  a  few  months  old,  was  stolen,  and  his 
wife  died  not  long  afterward,  insane  and  of  a  broken 
heart.  Then  he  had  plunged  into  work,  at  first  more  as 
a  means  of  diverting  his  mind  from  the  gloomy  thoughts 
with  which  lie  was  continually  oppressed,  but  persever- 
ing after  time  had  in  a  measure  softened  his  grief,  be- 
cause work  had  become  a  second  nature  to  him. 

For  sixteen  years  he  had  been  engaged  in  some  of  the 
most  stupendous  engineering  operations  that  the  world 
had  seen.  His  skill,  his  energy,  his  power  of  mental 
application,  were  such  that  people  wondered  where  they 
all  came  from  ;  for  he  always  appeared  to  have  time  not 
only  for  mere  recreation,  but  for  serious  application  in 
the  domain  of  the  fine  arts.  He  was  an  accomplished 
musician,  not  only  being  a  brilliant  performer  on  the 
pianoforte,  but  a  composer  as  well,  and  he  had  written  a 
play  that  had  met  with  great  success  in  London,  where 
alone  as  yet  it  had  been  produced. 

But  a  little  more  than  two  years  before  he  is  now  intro- 
duced to  the  reader,  he  had  made  a  visit  to  a  Dr.  Willis, 
then  living  at  Chetolah,  his  residence,  near  the  town  of 
Hellbender,  in  the  Territory  of  Colorado.  Dr.  Willis 
had  a  daughter,  Theodora,  whom  Moultrie  had  met  with 
her  father  at  several  seaside  resorts  during  the  previous 
summer,  and  for  whom  he  had  formed  what  the  French 
call  ' '  une  grande  passion. ' '  He  had  then  proposed  ;  but 
as  this  action  was  taken  after  an  acquaintance  of  only  a 
little  more  than  a  month,  the  young  lady,  while  admit- 
ting that  she  reciprocated  his  attachment,  thought  it 
better  to  wait  a  little  while  before  giving  him  a  decided 
answer.  She  was  a  very  intellectual  as  well  as  a  very 


8  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

practical  young  woman  ;  had  received  a  medical  educa- 
tion, and  had  made  many  interesting  expelTmeirts^  as 
well  as  original  investigations,  in  the  departments  of 
physiology  and  natural  history.  She  had  no  doubt  of 
the  sincerity  of  either  Moultrie's  or  her  own  affection, 
but  she  knew  how  very  tricky  the  emotions  can  some- 
times be,  and  she  preferred,  therefore,  to  be  entirely 
satisfied  not  only  in  regard  to  the  reality  of  the  love  be- 
tween them,  but  what  was  of  equal  importance,  its  depth 
and  strength. 

Matters  were  therefore  allowed  to  remain  in  abeyance 
for  the  time  being,  and  Moultrie  accepted  the  doctor's 
invitation  to  make  a  visit  to  Chetolah  some  time  during 
the  ensuing  autumn,  it  being  understood  that  if  he  and 
Theodora  were  of  unchanged  minds  relative  to  their 
affection  for  each  other,  their  marriage  should  soon  take 
place.  Accordingly,  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  two 
years  previously,  the  journey  to  Hellbender  was  made. 
His  mother,  sister — a  young  widow,  Mrs.  Sincote — and 
her  daughter — a  child  of  ten — Florence  Sincote,  being 
included  in  the  invitation,  and  accompanying  him.  His 
own  love  had  not  flagged,  and  neither,  as  the  event 
proved,  had  Theodora's  ;  for  on  the  morning  after  his 
arrival  at  Chetolah  he  had  again  pressed  his  suit,  and 
had  met  with  a  gracious  acceptance.  Shortly  afterward 
they  were  married. 

But  Moul trie's  visit  to  Colorado  had  not  only  resulted 
in  his  obtaining  a  charming  woman  for  his  wife.  Infor- 
mation had  been  received  by  the  doctor  that  confirmed  sus- 
picions that  had  been  formed  several  years  previously,  but 
that  could  not  at  the  time  be  established,  that  a  notorious 
horse-thief  and  murderer  named  Bosler  had  been  the 
abductor  of  Moultrie' s  child,  and  that  she  was  then 


RETROSPECTIONS.  9 

living  with  Bosler  as  his  daughter.  Measures,  among 
which  was  the  hanging  of  Bosler  by  a  vigilance  commit- 
tee, were  at  once  taken  to  obtain  possession  of  the  girl, 
who  was  then  a  little  over  seventeen  years  of  age,  and 
success  had  crowned  the  efforts.  She  was  one  of  those 
present  in  the  drawing-room  awaiting  the  announcement 
of  dinner. 

Second,  there  was  his  wife,  late  Theodora  Willis,  the 
only  daughter  of  Dr.  Willis,  a  wealthy  Virginian,  at  one 
time  a  medical  officer  of  the  army,  but  more  recently  a 
citizen  of  Colorado.  He  had  gone  to  that  Territory 
soon  after  the  discovery  of  gold  and  silver,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  restoring  the  health  of  his  wife.  He  had  made 
large  and  fortunate  investments  in  mines  and  lands,  and 
was  the  originator  and  chief  proprietor  of  the  town  of 
Hellbender — so  named  from  a  curious  reptile  found  in  a 
mountain  lake  near  by — his  residence,  Chetolah,  being 
situated  close  to  the  place. 

Theodora  Willis  had  been  brought  up  in  a  rather 
peculiar  manner.  Her  mother  had  died  not  long  after 
her  arrival  in  Colorado,  and  the  education  of  the  young 
girl  had  devolved  entirely  on  her  father.  His  mind,  in 
consequence  of  his  anxiety  in  regard  to  his  wife's  health 
and  grief  at  her  death,  had  become  slightly  unhinged, 
but  only  in  one  direction.  QejJn4ax£.,J)ecam^ 
maniac_pn  the  subject  of  his  daughter's  intellectual  abili- 
ties, and  in  regard  to  the  status  that  women  should 
occupy  in  social  and  political  affairs.  He  was  constantly 
urging  her  for  official  positions  of  various  kinds,  con- 
sulted her  in  his  difficult  medical  cases,  and  left  no  occa- 
sion unimproved  for  descanting  on  her  pre-eminence — 
not  only  over  all  other  women,  but  over  men  as  well — in 
all  those  qualities  that  are  supposed  to  indicate  special 


10  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

fitness  for  great  state  and  municipal  offices.  As  to 
women  as  a  sex,  he  thought  they  ought  to  take  the  place 
of  men  in  the  affairs  of  nations,  and  that  they  were  far 
superior  to  men  in  mental  development.  His  derange- 
ment was  well  known  to  his  daughter,  who  by  no  means 
contributed  her  influence  to  the  maintenance  of  his  dis- 
ordered ideas,  and  was  eventually  recognized  by  himself, 
his  monomania  suddenly  disappearing  from  the  effects  of 
a  very  positive  address,  made  by  one  of  his  friends,  a 
Mr.  Tyscovus,  at  a  political  meeting  in  opposition  to  some 
exceedingly  extravagant  views  he  had  enunciated. 

Theodora,  however,  while  not  courting  political  ad- 
vancement for  her  sex,  was  a  strenuous  advocate  for 
greatly  enlarged  courses  of  study  for  women  and  their 
elevation  to  an  intellectual  stage  above  that  which  they 
then  occupied.  Under  the  tuition  of  her  father  and  a 
Fraulein  Schwartzfeld,  who  had  taken  a  medical  degree 
at  Zurich,  she  became  a  proficient  in  comparative  anato- 
my, and,  as  the  former  had  said  in  a  conversation  with 
his  friend  Tyscovus,  had  "  dissected  every  kind  of  an 
animal  from  man  to  insects."  She  had  also  held  ad- 
vanced views  relative  to  the  development  hypothesis,  and 
had  conducted  a  series  of  investigations  in  evolution  that 
had  led  to  the  most  astonishing  results.  A  very  com- 
plete laboratory  had  been  erected  as  a  wing  to  Chetolah, 
and  here  she  was  accustomed  to  spend  the  greater  part 
of  her  time  in  physiological,  physical,  and  chemical 
researches. 

But  notwithstanding  this  decided  intellectual  bias, 
Theodora  Willis  was  deficient  in  none  of  the  mental 
characteristics  of  a  true  woman.  The  emotional  part  of 
her  mental  being  was  well  developed,  and  while  hers 
was  not  one  of  those  warm-hearted  natures  that  become 


RETROSPECTIONS.  11 

demonstrative  in  the  presence  of  circumstances  calculated 
to  arouse  the  passions,  she  experienced  probably  fully  as 
much  feeling  in  her  own  quiet  way  as  those  who  evinced 
more  obvious  disturbance. 

She  had  married  Moultrie  not  only  because  she  loved 
him  devotedly,  but  because  she  perceived  that  he  was  a 
man  that  she  could  not  fail  to  respect.  Probably  neither 
of  these  factors  would  have  sufficed  to  make  her  become 
his  wife,  and  it  could  not  fairly  be  said  that  she  had  been 
influenced  in  her  judgment  of  his  character  by  the  fact 
that  she  found  herself  giving  him  her  love.  She  had 
weighed  him  in  her  intellectual  balance  without  prejudice 
for  or  against  him,  and  had  deliberately  arrived  at  the 
conviction  that  she  would  be  able  to  add  to  his  happiness, 
and  he  to  hers. 

Her  manner  was  peculiarly  winning,  gracious,  and 
frank.  She  had  always  contended  that  a  woman  could, 
when  actuated  by  high  and  ennobling  motives,  attend 
the  dissecting  room  and  study  human  anatomy  without 
losing  any  of  the  freshness  or  bloom  of  her  womanly 
nature  ;  and  certainly  the  result  in  her  own  case  appeared 
to  give  countenance  to  that  opinion. 

In  person  Theodora  Moultrie,  as  she  was  now,  was  tall 
and  slender,  without  her  figure  being  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree emaciated.  Her  hair  was  of  the  golden  auburn  hue 
that  a  chestnut  sometimes  exhibits  when  the  burr  has 
been  open  toward  the  autumn  sun.  Her  eyes  were  gray  ; 
not  a  shade  of  green  or  of  blue,  or  of  any  intermediate 
hue,  but  a  good,  honest  gray,  like  that  of  the  back  of 
the  gray  squirrel,  with  little  irregular  spots  of  darker 
gray  scattered  over  the  irides.  Her  forehead  was  rather 
low,  and  her  eyebrows — somewhat  darker  in  color  than 
her  hair — were  well  arched,  though  not  to  such  an  extent 


12  A    STKONG-MLNDED    WOMAN. 

as  to  create  the  expression  of  astonishment  which  persons 
with  very  high-arched  eyebrows  always  exhibit.  Her 
mouth  was  her  most  expressive  feature,  even  when  in 
repose.  There  was  nothing  severe  in  its  outlines,  but 
the  lips,  without  being  tightly  pressed  together  or  left 
half  open,  were  kept,  just  sufficiently  in  contact  to 
remove  all  idea  of  weakness  from  the  mind  of  the  ob- 
server, and  at  the  same  time  prevent  the  conception  that 
she  was  a  hard  and  unemotional  woman.  And  it  was  a 
mobile  mouth.  When  she  laughed  or  smiled,  it  opened 
wide  enough  to  display  two  rows  of  white  and  regular 
teeth,  upon  which  there  was  not  a  spot  or  blemish,  and 
then  two  tiny  dimples  appeared  at  the  corners,  only  for 
an  instant,  as  though  just  for  the  purpose  of  emphasiz- 
ing the  expression.  Her  complexion,  while  not  what  is 
called  "  blooming,"  had  a  light  shade  of  pink  on  the 
cheeks,  not  sharply  defined  at  the  outlines,  but  fading 
gradually  away  till  it  was  imperceptibly  lost  in  the  white 
with  the  tinge  of  old  ivory  that  was  the  prevailing  hue 
of  the  rest  of  her  face.  Certainly  she  was  very  beauti- 
ful, and  evidently  she  knew  how  to  enhance  her  good 
looks  by  the  use  of  those  legitimate  means  the  knowledge 
of  which  appears  to  be  innate  with  most  women.  Then 
her  hair  was  worn  in  the  simplest  manner,  merely  being 
twisted  into  a  knot  behind,  while  a  few  reddish-brown 
curls  lay  negligently  on  her  forehead.  In  this  way  the 
classical  head  was  best  shown  in  all  its  beauty.  What 
matters  it  how  perfect  the  shape  of  a  woman's  head 
may  be  if  she  loads  it  down  with  masses  of  false  hair, 
arranged  without  the  slightest  regard  for  the  canons 
of  art  ?  Doubtless  some  heads  are  improved  in  ap- 
pearance by  such  a  procedure,  but  Theodora  Moultrie's 
was  not  one  of  them.  The  more  of  it  that  was  seen 


RETROSPECTIONS.  13 

as  nature  made  it,  the  more  it  was  certain  to  be  ad- 
mired. 

When  she  spoke  other  charms  were  revealed,  and  not 
her  least  by  any  means.  Not  only  did  she  speak  the 
English  language  perfectly,  but  she  knew  just  how  to 
accentuate  her  words  and  to  intone  her  phrases  to  suit 
the  ideas  she  was  expressing.  And  then  her  voice  !  It 
was  one  such  as  probably  few  women  in  New  York  not 
of  Southern  or  late  English  origin  possess.  Not  that  the 
New  York  women  have  not  the  vocal  apparatus  as  per- 
fectly formed  as  that  of  their  Southern  sisters,  but  for 
the  reason  that  they  are  rarely  taught  how  to  use  it  for 
conversational  purposes.  They  talk,  but  as  a  rule  they 
do  not  converse. 

There  was  no  physical  weakness  about  Theodora. 
She  could  eat  a  good  big  piece  of  beefsteak  for  her 
breakfast,  with  the  accessories  of  bread  and  butter  and  a 
cup  of  well-made  coffee,  besides  doing  full  justice  to  her 
other  meals  ;  and  then  she  walked  four  miles  every  day. 
Rain  or  shine,  snow  or  sleet,  hot  or  cold,  no  matter  what 
the  weather,  she  walked  four  miles.  It  took  her  two 
hours  nearly  to  do  this,  and  then  the  rest  of  the  morning 
was  spent  in  such  occupations  as  were  not  obligatory,  but 
that  assuredly  materially  contributed  to  her  well-being 
and  happiness.  There  was  no  laboratory  in  the  house  in 
Fifth  Avenue.  She  had  voluntarily  given  up  all  those 
practical  studies  that  necessitated  a  workshop  of  the 
kind.  But  she  read  and  wrote  in  a  lovely  little  boudoir 
adjoining  the  library,  in  which  there  was  a  microscope 
for  such  occasional  use  as  might  be  suggested  by  topics 
of  reading  or  conversation,  and  that  besides  was  well 
stored  with  such  of  her  own  individual  books  as  were 
her  special  friends  or  favorites. 


14  A    STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Theodora  was  fond  of  fine  clothes  in  the  proper  sense 
of  the  expression.  Her  taste  was  so  correct  that  nothing 
could  have  induced  her  to  wear  bad  materials  unartistic- 
ally  made,  or  into  the  construction  of  which  incongruous 
colors  entered.  For  mere  ornaments,  as  such,  she  cared 
little,  rarely  wearing  jewelry  of  any  description  ;  and 
when  she  did  array  herself  in  anything  of  the  kind,  they 
consisted  of  a  necklace,  a  brooch,  or  a  bracelet,  either 
veritable  antiques,  or  fashioned  after  some  ancient 
models,  the  beauty  and  value  of  which  depended  not  so 
much  on  the  material  of  which  they  were  made  as  on  the 
perfection  of  the  workmanship  of  which  they  had  been 
the  recipients.  Beyond  some  old  heirlooms  Theodora 
did  not  probably  own  a  diamond,  or  a  ruby,  or  other 
precious  stone,  but  she  possessed  a  gold  Etruscan  neck- 
lace which  had  once  been  worn  by  Julia,  the  daughter  of 
Julius  Caesar  and  Cornelia,  and  another  of  intaglio  gems 
two  thousand  years  old,  and  which  no  lapidary  of  the 
present  day  could  hope  to  rival  in  perfection  of  design 
and  execution.  She  was  rich,  her  husband  was  rich,  her 
father  was  rich  ;  but  the  wearing  of  any  article  of  ap- 
parel or  of  ornament  merely  because  it  would  display 
her  wealth  would  have  been  an  abomination  to  her. 

Third,  Miss  Lalage  Moultrie.  This  young  lady  was, 
at  the  time  this  history  begins,  in  her  nineteenth  year. 
Her  life  had  been  a  checkered  one,  but  through  her  good 
sense  and  strength  of  character  she  had  succeeded  in 
escaping  the  pitfalls  with  which  her  pathway  in  life  had 
abounded.  While  only  a  few  months  old  she  had  been 
stolen  by  one  Jim  Bosler,  who  had  been  described  subse- 
quently as  the  "  worst  man  between  the  two  oceans." 
In  a  fit  of  drunken  rage  he  had  killed  his  own  infant  of 
the  same  age  and  of  like  features.  Fearful  that  exposure 


RETROSPECTIONS.  15 

would  come  oji  the  return  of  his  wife,  who  was  tempo- 
rarily absent,  as  well  as  other  inconveniences  being 
caused,  he  had  proceeded  to  Moultrie's  house  near  by 
and  had  abducted  the  child.  He  then  took  it  to  his 
own  home,  and  had  succeeded,  without  suspicion  for 
several  years,  and  without  detection  for  many  more, 
not  only  in  passing  her  off  upon  the  public  as  his  own 
daughter,  but  even  in  deceiving  his  wife  to  the  same 
effect. 

The  child's  own  mother  had  died  shortly  after  the 
kidnapping,  and  her  ostensible  mother  was  a  poor,  weak 
creature,  wholly  under  the  control  of  her  husband,  but 
who,  although  brought  down  by  her  marriage  almost  to 
his  low  level,  had  never  been  wholly  bad.  Occasionally, 
and  especially  during  the  latter  years  of  her  life,  a  dis- 
position to  get  her  husband  away  from  his  associations, 
with  the  hope  of  reforming  him  and  of  improving  the 
social  conditions  of  herself  and  the  child,  was  manifested  ; 
but  it  never  came  to  anything  definite.  She  died  sud- 
denly from  pulmonary  hemorrhage  during  a  violent  alter- 
cation with  her  husband. 

This  man  wras  a  professional  horse-thief  and  gambler. 
During  his  residence  in  Colorado,  whither  he  had  gone 
about  the  time  the  Willises  had  settled  there,  he  was 
known  to  have  killed  eleven  men.  Finally  he  was  tried 
and  hanged  by  the  Vigilance  Committee  ;  but  before  his 
execution  confirmed  very  positive  information  that  had 
only  been  received  a  few  days  previously,  that  Lai — Mrs. 
Bosler  had  given  her  the  name  of  Lalla — was  not  his 
daughter.  Irrefragable  evidence  showed  that  she  was 
Moultrie's  long-lost  child. 

Bosler  had  formed  plans  for  marrying  her  to  one  of 
his  own  companions,  a  man  almost  as  bad  as  himself,  but 


16  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

these  were  defeated  by  Lai's  escape  and  by  the  timely 
action  of  the  Vigilance  Committee. 

x~  A  short  time  before  this  catastrophe  a  young  Polish 
/  nobleman,  Tyscovus  by  name,  had  arrived  at  Jim  Bosler's 
\  cabin,  which  was  situated  a  few  miles  from  Hellbender, 
/  on  a  high  knoll  or  butte.  He  had  been  apparently 
J  directed  to  this  exact  spot  in  a  dream  or  a  vision,  and 
/  though  not  in  the  least  superstitiousTTTe  hadTacted  in 
accordance  with  the  directions  given  him,  and  had  found 
V  the  place  exactly  as  it  had  been  described. 

He  was  engaged  in  the  preparation  of  an  elaborate 
work  on  sociology,  and  desired  to  reside  where  he  could 
be  removed  from  all  disturbing  influences.  He  had  ac- 
cordingly bought  the  place  and  had  made  it  his  resi- 
dence. Seeing  Lai,  he  had  been  struck  with  her  beauty, 
and  an  incident  that  took  place  had  shown  him  how  true 
she  was  of  heart,  and  how  great  was  her  capacity  for 
mental  and  moral  development.  He  loved  her  before 
he  knew  that  she  was  anything  else  than  the  daughter  of 
a  horse-thief  and  a  murderer  ;  and  of  course  the  discovery 
that  her  mother  was  a  Polish  princess,  and  her  father 
one  of  the  most  eminent  of  American  citizens,  had  not 
tended  to  diminish  his  affection. 

But  although  Moultrie  was  glad  to  find  that  an  attach- 
ment existed  between  his  daughter  Lalage — or  Lai,  as 
she  continued  to  be  called  by  her  friends,  with  equal 
appropriateness  as  when  it  was  thought  her  name  was 
Lalla — and  a  gentleman  so  admirable  in  every  respect  as 
was  Tyscovus,  he  deemed  it  advisable  that  marriage 
should  be  deferred  for  at  least  two  years.  This  conclu- 
sion had  been  arrived  at  not  only  on  account  of  her  youth 
— which,  perhaps,  had  that  been  the  only  obstacle,  might 
have  been  overlooked  — but  for  the  reason  that  her  edu- 


EETEOSPECTIOWS.  17 

cation  had  been  almost  entirely  neglected,  and  that  she 
had  never  had  those  associations  with  ladies  and  gentle- 
men of  her  own  station  in  life  so  necessary  to  give  polish 
and  refinement  of  manner,  and  to  otherwise  fit  her  for 
the  duties  and  the  amenities  of  the  marriage  state. 

Lai  was  endowed  with  an  ample  quantity  of  good 
sense,  and  she  had  at  once  recognized  the  force  of  the 
arguments  that  her  father  had  addressed  to  her.  Indeed, 
when  Tyscovus  informed  her  of  his  love  and  his  desire 
to  make  her  his  wife  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  she 
had,  while  expressing  her  own  affection,  declared  with 
equal  positiveness  that  she  was  not  fit  to  be  his  wife. 
She  saw  with  a  woman's  discernment  that  while  he  was 
an  educated  gentleman,  with  manners  and  forms  of 
speech  befitting  his  social  position,  she  was  uneducated, 
ignorant  of  those  conventionalities  of  life  without  which 
society  would  be  unendurable,  and  speaking  a  debased 
dialect,  every  word  of  which  showed  her  unacquaintance 
with  the  first  principles  of  polite  conversation.  She  was 
of  keen  sensibilities  as  well  as  of  quick  intelligence,  and 
she  would  have  been  intensely  mortified  if  at  any  time 
the  man  that  she  loved  and  had  married  should  have  had 
occasion  to  be  ashamed  of  his  wife. 

Accordingly  she  had  come  East  with  her  father,  leav- 
ing her  lover  in  possession  of  his  butte,  and  on  which  he 
intended  to  erect  a  large  and  substantial  house  in  time  to 
receive  his  wife  when  the  two  years  of  probation  had 
expired.  It  was  agreed  that  in  the  meantime  they  might 
correspond,  and  that  Tyscovus  should  visit  his  fiancee 
twice  a  year  for  periods  of  two  weeks.  Owing,  how- 
ever, to  circumstances  beyond  his  control,  the  two  years 
had  nearly  elapsed  without  his  having  been  able  to  make 
a  single  visit. 


18  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Lai  had  had,  in  consequence  of  the  low  moral  tone  of 
her  former  associations,  while  she  thought  she  was  the 
daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bosler,  rather  loose  ideas  in 
regard  to  the  rights  of  property-holders,  and  these  were 
especially  manifested  in  the  direction  of  horse-flesh. 
She  had  so  often  heard  her  reputed  father,  Mr.  Jim 
Bosler,  assert  that  "  hosses  was  things  as  no  man  had  ary 
a  right  to  call  his'n  onless  he  knowed  enough  to  keep 
'em,"  that  she  accepted  the  diction  as  sound  ethical 
doctrine,  and  was  at  all  times  ready  to  defend  it  vi  et 
armisy  if  necessary.  But  as  she  grew  older  an  occasional 
doubt — the  first  promptings~oF^rnbeWeFnature-— arose 
ifTher  mind  relative  to  the  rectitude  of  her  ostensible 
father'sconduct.  Apparently  these  did  not  come  from 
teachings,  or__examples,  or  from  any  oth^r  ^Ytranpons 
causejs._^rhere^  was  no  source  open  to  herjfrom  which 
tEey^could  have  beenderived.  The  man  that  she  had 
been  taught  to  regard  as  her  father  was  a  notorious 
horse-thief  and  murderer,  who  justified  his  stealings  by 
contending  that  he  had  an  inherent  right  to  take  horses 
and  mules  whenever  and  wherever  he  could  find  them, 
and  his  murders  by  the  plea  that  any  one  that  endeav- 
ored to  prevent  him  gratuitously  risked  his  life,  and 
must  take  the  consequences  of  his  folly.  The  woman 
that  she  looked  upon  as  her  mother  had  been  a  respect- 
able  girl,  but  after  her  marriage  with  Jim  Bosler  she  had 
assimilated  herself  to  her  husband,  losing  the  conscien- 
tiousness  she  had  once  had,  and  justifying  him  in  all  his 
crimes  against  society.  It  was  not,  therefore,  a  matter 
for  surprise  that  Lai  should  have  arrived  at  womanhood 
with  many  notions  that  were  altogether  incompatible 
with  the  principles  of  sound  morality.  The  wonder  was 
that,  notwithstanding  the  vicious  influences  to  which  she 


RETROSPECTIONS.  19 

was  constantly  subjected,  she  had  preserved  an  essentially 
pure  nature  that  not  even  bad  precept  and  worse  exam- 
ple cotfjd  destroy.  The  germ  of  goodness  was  in  her 
heaii^Sibrironiy^equired  the  proper  germinating  forces 
to  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  in  order  to  cause  it  to 
break  through  the  thin  coating  that  concealed  it  from 
view.  The  occasion  was  not  wanting. 

She  had  found  a  little  book  that  Tyscovus  had  lost, 
and  instead  of  returning  it  to  the  owner,  had  appropri- 
ated it  to  her  own  use.  The  book  was  a  biography  of 
one  of  his  ancestors,  and  in  reading  it  she  came  across 
many  examples  of  virtue  and  self-sacrifice  that  seemed 
to  be  just  such  as  she  needed  to  have  set  before  her  at 
this  stage  of  her  existence.  She  perceived  how  lament- 
ably she  fell  short  of  the  standards  of  excellence  that  the 
perusal  of  this  little  book  brought  to  her  knowledge, 
and,  filled  with  remorse,  she  determined  to  return  the 
volume,  confess  her  crime,  and  take  the  consequences 
that  she  might  have  incurred. 

But  instead  of  upbraiding  her  for  her  offence,  Tysco- 
vus had  sympathized  with  her  in  her  repentance,  and 
had  made  her  a  present  of  the  book.  Overcome  by  the 
kindness  and  graciousness  of  his  treatment,  her  whole 
heart  had  gone  out  to  him,  and  she  had  fallen  at  his  feet 
acknowledging  his  goodness  and  praying  for  his  welfare. 
Then  it  was  that,  as  he  raised  her  from  the  floor,  their 
eyes  met,  and  the  story  of  their  love  began  to  be  told. 

No  one  ever  labored  more  assiduously  in  the  direction 
of  self-improvement  than  had  Lalage  Moultrie  since 
her  arrival  in  New  York,  nearly  two  years  before.  Of 
course  she  had  all  the  facilities  at  her  command  that  her 
father's  love  and  wealth  could  afford,  but  she  had  incen- 
tives to  work  without  which  her  progress  would  have  been 


20  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

comparatively  slow.  Her  love  for  Tyscovus  had  suffered 
no  diminution.  On  the  contrary,  time  and  absence 
seemed  to  have  added  to  its  intensity,  and  she  had  made 
good  use  of  all  the  advantages  she  possessed  in  order  to 
fit  herself  to  be  his  wife  not  only  in  name,  but  in  all  that 
is  implied  by  companionship  and  friendship. 

In  all  this  she  had  succeeded,  if  not  in  accordance  with 
her  own  expectations,  certainly  to  a  greater  extent  than 
the  most  sanguine  of  her  friends  had  supposed  would  be 
possible.  In  the  first  place,  she  had  a  very  clear  idea  of 
her  own  deficiencies,  and,  in  the  next,  she  was  not 
spoiled  by  her  elevation  in  social  rank.  She  knew,  for 
instance,  that  her  manner  of  speech  was  not  such  as  edu- 
cated and  refined  persons  employed,  and  she  therefore 
set  herself  to  work  to  get  rid  of  a  characteristic  that 
more  than  any  other  feature  was  calculated  to  shock  those 
with  whom  she  would  soon  be  brought  into  relation.  It 
was  a  difficult  undertaking  for  one  who  had  for  so  many 
years  been  absolutely  cut  off  from  association  with  per- 
sons who  spoke  the  English  language  grammatically,  and 
for  one  who  had,  in  consequence,  acquired  an  uncouth 
dialect,  nearly  every  word  of  which  was  a  barbarism  or 
solecism,  or  both.  But  she  had  persevered,  and,  assisted 
by  her  father,  who  took  this  particular  part  of  her  educa- 
tion under  his  especial  supervision,  she  had  attained  to  a 
degree  of  proficiency  in  the  correct  use  of  her  native 
tongue  that  not  one  young  woman  in  a  thousand  of 
those  to  "  the  manner  born"  ever  succeed  in  reaching. 
Moultrie  prided  himself  on  his  use  of  good  English. 
Theodora  spoke  always  with  a  purity  of  diction  that 
showed  that  she  had  been  in  association  all  her  life  with 
educated  ladies  and  gentlemen.  A  muddy  sentence 
was  never  heard  from  either  of  them.  Example,  there- 


RETROSPECTIONS.  21 

fore,  more  influential,  as  it  always  is,  than  precept,  gave 
its  powerful  aid  to  accomplish  the  object  in  view,  and  so 
it  resulted  that,  in  the  course  of  less  than  two  years, 
Lai's  speech  was  such  that  no  one  hearing  her  talk  would 
have  supposed  that  she  had  ever  had  any  other  compan- 
ionship than  that  of  men  and  women  of  good  grammati- 
cal repute. 

But  Lai's  English,  though  grammatical,  was  not 
always  colloquial.  It  was  as  yet  too  precise  and  formal 
for  ordinary  conversation.  Thus  she  very  generally 
said  "  cannot"  for  "  can't,"  "  do  not"  for  "  don't,'5 
"  I  am"  for  "  I'm,"  "  I  have"  for  "  I've,"  and  so  on. 
It  was  scarcely  a  fault,  and,  indeed,  often  gave  an  added 
charm  to  her  speech,  which  went  well  with  her  earnest- 
ness and  evident  sincerity. 

Again,  at  times,  when  intensely  interested  or  excited, 
she  fell  unconsciously  into  her  old  dialect.  It  appeared, 
therefore,  that  she  had  not  yet  learned  her  new  language 
so  thoroughly  as  to  use  it  automatically.  She  had  to 
give  her  mind  to  it,  just  as  does  a  musician  to  a  composi- 
tion that  he  has  not  thoroughly  learned. 

It  does  not  take  long  for  an  American  girl,  with  suffi- 
cient opportunity,  to  learn  good  manners.  Six  months 
in  a  boarding-school  under  the  charge  of  a  lady  of  gentle 
breeding  will  change  a  backwoods  amazon  to  a  duchess 
of  the  ancien  regime,  so  far  as  mere  externals  go,  though 
she  may  at  heart  be  as  uncouth  as  a  Pawnee  squaw. 
Lalage  Moultrie  had  the  great  advantage  of  being  in- 
nately refined.  Her  father  was  a  gentleman,  as  were  mT 
fatKeTanbTllis  father's  father,  and  so  on  back  for  many 
generations.  Her  mother  was  a  princess  of  the  House 
of  Lutomski,  one  of  the  oldest  in  Poland.  It  would 
have  been  strange,  therefore,  if  such  good  blood  as 


22  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

flowed  in  her  veins  had  not  brought  with  it  something 
more  than  the  material  elements  of  the  sanguine  cur- 
rent— certain  predispositions  and  tendencies  that  could 
not  have  been  wholly  restrained,  no  matter  how  adverse 
were  the  influences  to  which  they  might  be  subjected, 
and  which  required  very  little  developing  power  to  bring 
them  to  fruition.  These  she  had,  and  hence  the  sweet- 
ness and  gentleness  that  characterized  her  speech  and 
factions  were  not  a  mere  superficial  coating,  but  an  ex- 
jpression  of  her  power  of  thought  and  feeling. 
'  And  yet  Lalage  had  a  spirit  of  her  own  that,  when 
roused  into  activity  by  what  she  considered  indignity  or 
oppression,  made  itself  felt  in  the  most  unmistakable 
manner.  Indeed,  before  her  rescue  from  the  man  who 
had  stolen  her,  and  who  had  assimilated  her  so  far  as  he 
could  to  his  own  degraded  and  vicious  nature,  she  had  at 
times  displayed  a  violence  of  anger,  conjoined  with  a 
physical  capacity  to  take  care  of  herself  when  occasion 
required,  that  argued  strongly  for  her  mental  and  bodily 
powers  of  resistance  or  attack,  and  her  disposition  to  use 
them  without  much  regard  for  the  consequences  to  her 
antagonist. 

But  as  she  came  more  and  more  thoroughly  under  the 
civilizing  influences  to  which  she  had  been  for  now 
nearly  two  years  subjected,  she  saw  the  necessity  of  self- 
control  in  this  respect.  For  Lalage  to  be  aware  of  a 
fault  was  all  that  was  sufficient  to  excite  her  to  make 
strenuous  exertions  to  get  rid  of  it.  But  it  was  in  this 
direction  that  she  encountered  the  most  difficulty,  and  at 
times,  notwithstanding  all  her  efforts,  she  would  give 
way  to  her  temper  to  a  degree  out  of  proportion  to  the 
exciting  cause.  Still,  it  was  so  manifestly  honest,  and 
she  was  so  sincere  in  her  repentance  for  any  unreasonable 


EETKOSPECTIONS.  23 

outburst  of  indignation,  that  those  who  experienced  its 
effects  were  not  loath  to  accord  their  forgiveness.  It  was 
when  she  was  conscious  of  having  committed  a  fault  that 
her  inborn  honesty  and  sense  of  justice  came  out  strong- 


est, andTtHen  nothing  w^uloTsatisfy-he^tttl  full  repara- 
tion had  been  made. 

In  personal  appearance,  save  in  the  matter  of  height, 
Lalage  Moultrie  was  very  different  from  Theodora. 
Like  her,  she  was  tall,  but  she  was  more  robust  and 
powerful,  and  of  greater  powers  of  endurance.  While 
Theodora  would  walk  her  four  miles  a  day  and  feel  that 
it  was  as  much  as  was  good  for  her,  Lalage  would  think 
nothing  of  three  times  the  distance,  and  be  as  fresh  when 
it  was  finished  as  she  was  when  she  began.  Her  step 
was  as  elastic  and  free  as  that  of  a  young  blacktail  deer. 
In  fact,  every  movement  had  the  grace  and  accentuation 
which  only  well-developed  muscles  can  give. 

Up  to  the  time  of  her  recovery  by  her  father  she  had 
been  used  to  the  very  roughest  sort  of  work  with  feet 
and  hands.  It  was  nothing  then  for  her  to  run  bare- 
footed up  and  down  the  stony  road  that  led  from  the 
cabin  on  the  butte  to  the  plain  below,  and  to  pass  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  shoeless  and  stockingless.  In- 
deed, except  in  winter  and  upon  grand  occasions,  bare- 
footedness  was  her  normal  condition.  And  a  like  state 
of  affairs  existed  in  regard  to  her  hands.  She  did  the 
most  of  the  cooking,  washing,  and  ironing  of  the  family 
of  three.  It  was  not  much  collectively,  but  it  was 
enough  to  spoil  for  the  time  being  what  would  otherwise 
have  been  among  her  most  charming  features  ;  and  the 
fact  that  she  chopped  the  greater  part  of  the  wood  used 
as  fuel,  and  often  looked  after  the  horses,  feeding  them 
and  hitching  them  up  when  necessary,  made  matters  still 


24  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

worse,  so  far  as  softness  and  whiteness  were  concerned. 
But  her  hands  and  feet  were  so  beautifully  formed  that 
no  native-born  Polish  princess,  unless  she  had  American 
blood  in  her  veins,  ever  possessed  prettier  ones,  and  it 
did  not  take  long  for  all  signs  of  hard  usage  to  disappear. 

Lai's  hair  was  as  black  as  the  plumage  of  a  crow,  but, 
unlike  most  black  hair,  it  was  as  fine  and  soft  as  silk.  It 
was  a  most  luxuriant  growth,  reaching,  when  she  let  it 
down,  far  below  her  waist,  and  enveloping  her  head  and 
bust  in  its  raven-hued  strands.  Like  Theodora,  she 
wore  it  very  simply.  In  some  things  art  improves  upon 
nature,  but  Lai's  hair  was  not  one  of  them. 

It  goes  almost  without  saying  that  her  eyes  were  as 
black  as  her  hair.  So  they  were  ;  large,  soft,  lustrous 
eyes,  that  could  be  laughing,  or  loving,  or  pitying,  or 
fierce,  or  sad,  in  accordance  with  the  emotion  that 
swayed  her,  and  that  never  sent  out  a  glance  that  was 
not  honest  and  true.  Of  course,  too,  they  were  sur- 
mounted by  black  eyebrows  and  fringed  by  black  eye- 
lashes— long,  silken  lashes  that  "  kissed  her  soft  cheek's 
blooming  tinge"  as  it  cropped  out  of  the  clear  olive  tint 
of  her  complexion. 

Her  mouth  was  of  fuller  contour  than  was  Theodora's  ; 
not  so  delicately  chiselled,  perhaps,  nor  so  intellectual 
in  its  expression,  but  certainly  more  emotional.  Lai 
laughed  a  good  deal  in  those  days,  and  when  she  did  she 
showed  teeth  that  a  Congo  queen  might  have  envied. 

It  had  not  taken  her  long  to  learn  the  art  of  dress. 
But  few  young  women,  lifted  up,  as  she  had  been,  out  of 
the  depths  of  squalor  to  a  state  of  affluence,  would  have 
shown  a  tenth  part  of  the  moderation  in  the  matter  of 
external  adornment  that  was  exhibited  by  Lalage  Moul- 
trie.  There  was  no  disposition  to  run  riot  with  the  hues 


: 


RETROSPECTIONS.  25 


of  the  rainbow  or  the  products  of  the  silk  looms  ;  all 
was  subdued  and  quiet.  Her  beauty  was  of  the  kind  that 
took  care  of  itself.  To-night  she  wore  a  black  silk  frock 
trimmed  sparsely  with  bands  and  bows  of  crimson  ribbon. 

Around  her  neck  was  a  curious  Circassian  necklace 
that  she  had  worn  when  she  was  stolen,  and  that  had 
been  recovered  at  about  the  same  time  that  she  was 
identified  as  Moultrie's  daughter.  To  it  hung,  as  a 
pendant,  a  locket  that  Tyscovus  had  sent  her,  and  which 
was  made  of  gold  that  he  himself  had  worked  out  of  the 
deposits  of  Wild-cat  Creek.  This  and  a  Jacqueminot  rose 
in  the  bosom  of  her  gown  were  all  the  ornaments  she  wore. 

The  dowager  Mrs.  Moultrie  must  have  been  fully 
sixty- two  years  of  age,  but  time  had  dealt  gently  with 
her,  both  in  regard  to  her  mind  and  body  ;  for  she 
looked  and  felt  younger  than  she  really  was.  She  was  a 
well-disposed  woman,  but  at  the  same  time,  like  some 
others  of  her  sex,  undulKinclined  to  meddle  with  things 
that  did  not  especially  (WcernSier,  and  to  carry  her 
point  either  by  continually^4mr^ng  on  the  matter  at 
issue,  thus  wearying  her  opponents,  or  by  means  not 
strictly  legitimate.  She  had  very  decided  opinions  of 
her  own  on  most  of  the  topics  that  engaged  the  attention 
of  mankind  the  world  over.  In  fact,  it  was  a  matter  of 
pride  with  her  never  to  confess  her  ignorance  of  any 
subject.  As  a  necessary  consequence,  many  of  the 
views  she  held  and  expressed  were  formed  from  little  or 
no  knowledge,  but  jumped  at  as  a  cat  would  jump  at  a 
mouse,  hit  or  miss.  She  never  lost  her  temper,  strange 
to  say,  or  manifested  elation,  whether  she  suffered  defeat 
or  gained  a  victory,  but  preserved  the  most  aggravating 
mental  composure  and  suavity  of  manner,  which  it  must 
sometimes  have  cost  her  a  sickening  pang  to  manifest. 


26  A    STKONG -MINDED   WOMAN. 

She  was  not  dependent  on  her  son  for  support.  She 
had  her  own  establishment  near  the  Central  Park,  be- 
sides a  magnificent  country-seat  on  the  North  River,  and 
lived  in  a  style  befitting  her  wealth,  which,  if  not  very 
great  as  wealth  goes  nowadays,  was  more  than  sufficient 
to  allow  of  luxurious  living. 

Her  daughter,  Mrs.  Sincote,  a  little  over  on  the  shady 
side  of  thirty,  had  been  a  widow  for  ten  years.  She  had 
married  a  lieutenant  in  the  army  soon  after  his  graduation 
at  "West  Point,  one  who,  like  most  of  his  species,  had 
nothing  besides  his  pay  to  live  on. 

The  war  between  the  States  was  then  in  full  blast,  and 
Lieutenant  Sincote,  like  other  graduates  at  the  time,  was 
denied  the  usual  leave  of  absence,  and  was  ordered  to  join 
his  regiment,  then  fighting  in  the  Wilderness  under  Gen- 
eral Grant.  •  She  never  saw  him  again  alive,  for  he  fell 
with  a  bullet  through  his  heart  in  one  of  the  numerous 
battles  of  that  campaign,  and  he  never  saw  his  daughter, 
who  was  born  after  his  death. 

Mrs.  Sincote  was  a  pretty  looking  woman,  who  dressed 
well  on  the  liberal  allowance  her  brother  gave  her,  but 
who,  besides  being  amiable  and  well  disposed,  was  rather 
negative  in  hermental  charactgrjsjjcs.  In  any  argument 
going  on  before  her  she  always  expressed  an  opinion  in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  the  last  speaker.  She 
could  not,  therefore,  see  more  than  one  side  of  a  ques- 
tion at  the  same  time,  and  it  was  accordingly  no  unusual 
thing  for  her  to  express  as  many  views  on  a  topic  of 
conversation  as  there  were  persons  engaged  in  the  dis- 
cussion. She,  with  her  daughter  Florence,  resided  with 
her  mother,  and  but  for  the  general  weak  tone  of  her 
character  the  association  would  not  have  been  a  pleasant 
one  for  her.  As  it  was,  she  got  along  very  well  with 


RETROSPECTIONS.  27 


the  dowager,  for  the  reason  that  she  never  did  or  said 
anything  that  in  the  least  savored  of  opposition  to  any- 
thing said  or  done  by  the  old  lady.  At  times,  however, 
there  was  trouble,  just  as  there  was  between  the  wolf 
and  the  lamb,  and  mainly  on  account  of  the  fact  that 
Mrs.  Moultrie  had  her  own  ideas  of  the  character  of  the 
education  to  be  given  to  Florence.  Now,  although  Mrs. 
Sincote  never  interposed  the  shade  of  an  objection  to 
the  very  preposterous  notions  of  her  mother,  her  very 
passivity  led  the  latter  to  seek  her  opponents  elsewhere. 
Teachers  and  Moultrie  himself  were  made  parties  to  the 
one-sided  contest,  and  then  Julia — Mrs.  Sincote' s  first 
name — was  reproached,  till  she  was  thrown  into  a  semi- 
hysterical  condition,  with  her  want  of  interest  in  her 
child's  education.  However,  such  occasions  were  rare, 
and  on  the  whole,  as  we  have  said,  the  mother  and 
daughter  got  along  very  well  together. 

Julia  Sincote  had  been  one  of  the  party  that  visited 
the  Willises  with  Moultrie  when  he  got  his  wife  and 
found  his  daughter.  Although  she  had  been  thrown 
very  little  into  the  society  of  Count  John  Tyscovus,  or 
plain  Mr.  John  Tyscovus,  as  he  preferred  to  be  called — 
everybody  in  Poland,  as  he  said,  owning  a  ten-acre  lot 
being  a  count — she  had  fallen  very  much  in  love  with 
him.  All  women  liked  Tyscovus  ;  his  way  with  them 
nattered  them,  while  it  had  not  the  appearance  of  being 
flattery.  And  a  man  with  that  way,  if  personally  unob- 
jectionable, takes  their  hearts  by  storm.  Of  course  she 
said  nothing  about  the  passion  that  had  arisen  in  her 
heart,  but  it  was  none  the  weaker  for  that ;  and  the  fact 
that  her  niece  was  betrothed  to  him,  although  it  proba- 
bly forced  her  to  see  the  hopelessness  of  the  emotion  she 
had  conceived,  did  not  tend  to  lessen  its  force.  She  was 


28  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

not  a  woman  of  strong  feeling,  but  she  was  very  tena- 
cious of  her  senlTmejits,  weak  though  they  were,  and 
while  she  would  certainly  not  have  sacrificed  herself  for 
the  man  she  loved,  she  probably,  if  success  had  appeared 
to  her  to  be  a  probable  result,  would  not  have  hesitated 
to  sacrifice  any  one  else.  So  far  as  her  love  for  Tysco- 
vus  was  concerned,  she  had  long  since  made  up  her  mind 
that  it  would  never  come  to  anything  ;  but  she  rather 
enjoyed  the  idea  of  nursing  a  hopeless  passion,  and  of 
meditating  over  her  forlorn  state  as  a  life-long  martyr. 

Notwithstanding  the  state  of  depression  in  which  she 
considered  herself  to  be,  she  was  on  excellent  terms  with 
Lalage,  though  she  never  trusted  herself  to  talk  of  Tys- 
covus  with  her,  or  even  to  mention  his  name  in  her  pres- 
ence. Of  her  brother  Geoffrey  she  stood  in  wholesome 
awe,  not  only  because  she  was  dependent  on  him  for  her 
ability  to  dress  as  she  pleased,  to  go  everywhere,  and  to 
entertain  handsomely,  but  because  she  very  well  knew 
that  he  would  tolerate  nothing  that  savored  of  disloyalty 
either  to  himself  or  his  daughter. 

And,  last  of  all,  there  was  Florence  Sincote,  a  child  of 
eleven,  whose  importance  in  the  world  was  yet  to  come, 
and  who  had  not  yet  lived  long  enough  to  accumulate 
the  materials  of  a  history.  She  was  bright  and  vivacious, 
rather  pretty,  and  probably  resembling  in  face  and  mind 
her  father  more  than  her  mother.  She  was  present  on 
sufferance,  and  for  this  occasion  only,  by  reason  of  the 
fact  of  its  being  her  uncle's  birthday. 

With  these  formal  introductions  and  brief  account  of 
the  antecedents  of  some  of  the  chief  personages  of  this 
history,  the  groundwork  for  the  detail  of  their  subse- 
quent actions  is  sufficiently  laid. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A    FAMILY   DINNER. 

THE  large  and  elaborate  Dutch  clock,  which  not  only 
struck  the  hours  and  half  hours,  but  chimed  a  dozen 
tunes  and  told  the  day  of  the  week  and  of  the  month, 
the  phases  of  the  moon,  the  height  of  the  sun,  besides 
giving  other  valuable  information,  and  which  stood  on 
the  first  landing  of  the  staircase,  had  just  finished  a  per- 
formance on  its  bells  that  was  intended  for  an  eigh- 
teenth-century pastoral.  The  first  stroke  of  seven  had 
just  sounded  when  Francois,  the  butler,  was  seen  stand- 
ing in  the  doorway  that  opened  into  the  wide  hall.  At 
the  second  strike  he  bowed  to  Theodora,  and  at  the 
same  instant  the  words  "  Madame,  est  servie"  flowed 
mellifluously  from  his  lips,  and  ere  the  reverberations  of 
the  third  stroke  had  ceased  the  important  announcement 
had  been  made,  and  the  prandial  herald  had  disappeared. 
Moultrie  gave  his  arm  to  his  mother,  and  the  procession, 
of  which  Theodora  and  Lalage  brought  up  the  rear,  took 
up  its  line  of  march  to  the  dining-room. 

It  was  a  large  and  handsome  apartment,  capable  of 
dining  forty  people  comfortably.  The  prevailing  tone 
of  the  walls,  which  was  a  dull  red,  was  given  by  old 
Cordova  leather  which  Moultrie  had  picked  up  in  Spain. 
On  the  marquetry  floor  was  a  thick  Indian  rug,  which 
covered  it  up  to  about  four  feet  from  the  walls  all 
around,  leaving  bare  that  extent  of  the  elaborate  inlaid 


30  A    STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

work.  The  ceiling  was  of  a  pale  blue  tint,  the  centre 
being  specked  with  stars,  butterflies,  arid  birds  in  gold,  but 
all  flat.  Moultrie  was  too  correct  in  his  artistic  taste  to 
permit  any  decoration  in  relief,  or  with  the  appearance 
of  relief,  to  go  on  the  ceiling  or  even  the  walls  of  his 
house.  Such  abominations  as  vases  of  flowers,  cupids, 
and  garlands  sticking,  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature, 
to  a  flat,  horizontal  surface,  would  not  have  been  toler- 
ated in  his  establishment,  or  in  one  over  which  Theodora 
presided. 

From  the  centre  of  the  ceiling  hung  a  brass  Moresque 
chandelier,  which  was  a  chandelier  in  reality,  as  it  held 
fifty  wax  candles,  and  from  the  four  corners  depended 
four  lamps  of  the  same  metal  and  of  most  intricate 
Arabic  workmanship.  Moorish  and  Arabic  cabinets 
stood  against  the  walls,  and  were  filled  with  rare  speci- 
mens of  glass  and  pottery. 

.  Of  course,  Theodora  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and 
Moultrie  at  the  foot.  On  his  right  sat  his  mother,  and 
on  his  left  his  daughter.  On  Theodora's  right  was  her 
sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Sincote,  and  on  her  left  her  niece  by 
marriage,  Florence  Sincote. 

"  With  two  others  I  might  mention,"  said  Moultrie, 
as  he  sat  down,  and  looking,  as  he  spoke,  alternately  at 
his  wife  and  daughter,  "  our  company  to-night  would  be 
complete." 

"  I  think  I  know  what  papa  is  doing,"  said  Theodora, 
with  a  musical  little  laugh,  and  fastening  a  bouquet  of 
Jacqueminot  roses  in  her  corsage.  "  He  is  telling  Mr. 
Higgins  to  proceed  with  all  possible  despatch  to  the 
presence  of  those  amphibious  personages,  the  '  horse- 
marines,'  and  lay  his  proposition  before  them." 

"Why  specially  to-night,  dear  ?"  observed  the  dow- 


A   FAMILY   DINNER.  31 

ager,  with  a  tone  and  manner  as  though  she  felt  com- 
pelled to  ask  a  question  the  answer  to  which  was  of  no 
possible  importance  to  her — "  why  on  the  occasion  of 
Geoffrey's  birthday  ?" 

"  Oh,"  replied  Theodora,  still  laughing,  "  Geoffrey's 
birthday  has  nothing  to  do  with  it,  one  way  or  the  other. 
For  the  last  five  years  Mr.  Higgins  has  come  at  half  past 
six  to  talk  to  papa  about  reforms  in  the  politics  of  the 
Territory.  At  seven  precisely  he  takes  his  departure, 
and  is  always  told  by  papa  to  tell  his  plans  to  the  '  horse- 
marines.'  1  don't  suppose  that  the  ceremony  has  been 
intermitted  because  this  is  Geoffrey's  birthday." 

"  Thanks,  dear,"  said  the  dowager,  languidly  ;  "  it  is 
always  so  much  better  to  understand  things." 

"  And  what  do  you  think  Tyscovus  is  doing,  Lai?" 
observed  Moultrie  to  his  daughter.  "  Is  he,  too,  dis- 
cussing politics  ?" 

"  No,  father" — she  always  called  him  "  father" — she 
replied,  while  the  color  of  her  cheek  deepened  a  little, 
and  a  smile  passed  over  her  face,  "  1  think  John  is  just 
about  beginning  his  second  pipe.  He  is  sitting  in  front 
of  the  fire  in  his  new  house  on  the  butte,  and  is  thinking 
of  us,  and — and,"  she  added,  hesitatingly,  "  wishing  he 
was  here." 

"  Or  rather,"  said  Moultrie,  laughing,  "  he  is  think- 
ing of  you  and  wishing  you  were  there.  Won't  that  do 
as  an  amendment,  Lai  ?" 

Lai  blushed  still  more,  and  all  the  rest  laughed. 

"How  many  pipes  does  he  smoke?"  inquired  the 
dowager,  with  a  little  more  interest  in  her  voice  than  she 
had  yet  shown. 

"  Six,"  replied  Lai,  as  she  raised  an  oyster  from  its 
shell  to  her  mouth. 


32  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Six  !"  exclaimed  the  dowager,  in  astonishment,  real 
or  affected — "  six  pipes  every  evening  !  My  dear,  you 
should  write  and  tell  him  that  science  has  demonstrated 
the  fact  that  the  excessive  use  of  tobacco  induces  a  pecul- 
iar kind  of  thirst  that  can  only  be  satisfied  by  indulgence 
in  whiskey.  All  inordinate  users  of  tobacco  sooner  or 
later  die  drunkards. ' ' 

As  she  uttered  these  words,  with  all  the  oracular  force 
of  which  she  was  capable,  she  squeezed  the  last  drop  of 
juice  from  a  piece  of  lemon  on  her  last  oyster,  which 
act,  equally  with  her  speech,  gave  evidence  of  the  inten- 
sity of  her  feelings. 

"  But  John  never  drinks  whiskey,  grandmother,"  said 
Lai,  with  a  touch  of  indignation  in  her  voice  and  a  look 
at  the  old  lady  that  expressed  a  like  feeling.  "  And  I'm 
quite  sure — oh,  yes,  very  sure,  that  he  will  not  die  a 
drunkard." 

u  You  should  have  heard  Mr.  Quarton's  lecture  the 
other  night,  my  dear,  and  then  perhaps  you  would  look 
at  the  matter  in  a  different  light.  Observations  made  in 
the  cases  of  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  ten  inveterate 
smokers  of  tobacco  showed  that  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  seventeen — all  but  ninety-three — drank  whis- 
key. Of  course  Mr.  Tyscovus  may  be  one  of  the  very 
small  proportion  that  escapes — less  than  four  per  cent, 
my  dear,  if  1  compute  correctly — but  it  is  an  awful  risk 
to  run."  And  her  tone  became  quite  pathetic,  as  she 
apparently  had  in  her  mind's  eye  the  picture  of  Tyscovus 
staggering  to  a  drunkard's  grave. 

"  I  think  you  are  quite  right,  Lai,  as  regards  Mr. 
Tyscovus,"  said  Theodora  from  the  other  side  of  the 
table,  "  however  right  mother  may  be  as  to  the 
twenty- five  hundred  and  odd  other  inveterate  smok- 


A   FAMILY   DINNER.  33 

ers.  A  more  abstemious  man  I  never  saw  in  all  my 
life." 

"  Thanks,  mamma  !"  exclaimed  Lai,  her  face  beaming 
with  pleasure.  u  Mr.  Quartern  does  not  know  John  at 
all,  and  grandmother  knows  him  very  slightly,  or  she 
would  not  say  such  things  of  him.  Do  you  think  John 
will  die  a  drunkard,  father  ?"  she  continued,  turning  to 
Moultrie  and  taking  hold  of  the  hand  that  was  nearer  to 
her. 

"  About  as  soon  as  I  will,  my  dear,"  answered  Moul- 
trie, smiling  at  her  eagerness.  (i  Perhaps  not  so  soon, 
for  I  understand  I  am  to  be  nominated  for  Congress  to- 
morrow night,  and  the  canvass  and  the  election  may  get 
me  into  such  a  habit  of  dram-drinking  that  a  drunkard's 
grave  may  ultimately  be  my  receptacle." 

"  How  can  you  talk  so  absurdly  on  such  a  serious  sub- 
ject, Geoffrey  !"  ejaculated  his  mother,  holding  up  both 
hands,  as  though  horrified  at  his  scoffing  manner.  "  And 
is  it  really  possible,"  she  continued,  her  voice  assuming 
a  tone  in  which  astonishment  and  sorrow  were  mingled 
in  about  equal  proportions,  ' '  that  an  American  gentle- 
man cannot  become  a  candidate  for  membership  in  the 
legislative  body  of  his  country  without  being  obliged  to 
contract  the  awful  habit  of  dram-drinking,  and  incurring 
the  risk  of  filling  a  drunkard's  grave  ?" 

"  I  am  afraid,  mother,"  rejoined  Moultrie,  looking  at 
the  dowager  with  a  humorous  expression  on  his  face, 
"  that  I  shall  have  to  answer  your  question  in  the  nega- 
tive— that  is,  if  the  American  gentleman  aforesaid  desires 
to  be  elected.  I  suppose,"  he  added,  looking  as  though 
he  were  thinking  deeply  on  the  subject,  "  that  vicarious 
drinking  would  do.  He  might,  I  mean  for  a  small  con- 
sideration, and,  of  course,  supplying  the  whiskey,  hire 


34  A    STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

men  to  do  his  drinking  for  him  ;  but  I  fear  such  a  pro- 
cedui^  would  not  be  any  better  on  the  score  of  morality 
than  doing  it  himself." 

"  Geoffrey  didn't  tell  you,  mother,"  said  Theodora, 
"  that  he  has  almost  made  up  his  mind  to  enter  the  field 
of  politics.  He  thinks  he  would  like  the  life,  and,  more- 
over, he  is  not  without  the  hope  that  he  may  be  of  some 
service  to  the  country." 

"  I  hope  he  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  rejoined 
the  dowager.  ((  Even  if  he  was  joking  about  the  dram- 
drinking — and  he  has  got  so  lately  that  I  scarcely  ever 
know  whether  he  is  in  earnest  or  not — he  would  have  to 
associate  with  such  horrid  people  that  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult for  him  to  escape  contamination." 

"  Well,  mother,  you  have  given  your  vote  in  the 
negative,"  said  Moultrie,  good-humoredly,  "  and  a  very 
emphatic  vote  it  is.  I  propose  to  be  entirely  under 
female  influence  to-night,  and  to  do  just  as  the  majority 
may  determine.  I  have  great  faith  in  the  intuitions  of 
women,  and  this  time  will  be  guided  by  them.  Now, 
Lai,  it's  your  turn.  What  do  you  say  ?" 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  unhesitatingly. 

"  That  seems  to  be  as  emphatic  a  vote  in  the  affirma- 
tive as  mother's  was  in  the  negative.  Now,  won't  you 
tell  why  you  think  I  ought  to  go  into  politics  ?" 

"  But,"  said  Lai,  smiling,  t(  I  thought  voters  did  not 
give  their  reasons  when  they  voted.  Besides,"  she 
added,  with  a  demure  look  at  her  grandmother,  "  my 
reasons  would  be  so  different  from — " 

"  From  those  I  have  advanced,"  interrupted  the  old 
lady.  "  Don't  be  restrained  on  that  account,  my  dear. 
It  is  so  refreshing  in  these  days  of  disrespect  for  their 
elders  to  hear  a  young  lady  speak  diffidently  of  differing 


A   FAMILY   DI^NEE.  35 

from  those  that  have  had  more  experience  of  the  world 
than  she  has,  that  I  think  you  deserve  encouraggiarfent. 
Pray,  go  on." 

"  Yes,  I  will,"  exclaimed  Lai,  with  a  little  quickness 
and  decision  in  her  voice,  and  a  slight  heightening  of  her 
color.  "  1  do  not  think  my  father  could  be  injured  by 
any  associations  he  chose  to  make.  He  might  go  witli 
drunkards,  and  thieves,  and  murderers,  and  instead  of 
them  making  him  bad,  he  would  make  them  good.  That 
is  what  I  think,  and  I  think  the  people  ought  to  be  glad 
to  get  such  a  man  as  my  father  to  go  to  their  Congress 
and  help  to  make  their  laws,  for  he  could  not  make  any 
but  good  ones. ' ' 

"  Brava  !"  cried  Moultrie,  clapping  his  hands.  "  Now 
I  shall  confidently  expect  the  votes  of  all  the  other  free 
women.  Come,  Julia,  it  is  your  turn  next." 

"  Oh,  I  vote  yes  !  I  certainly  agree  with  Lalage. 
You  ought  to  go  to  Congress  for  the  sake  of  the  coun- 
try." 

"  Thanks  !  Now,  Florence,  although  you  are  under 
age  we'll  allow  you  this  time  to  express  an  opinion. 
Speak,  immature  young  woman  !' ' 

"  I  vote  no,"  said  Florence,  without  hesitation  ;  "  be- 
cause if  you  went  to  Congress  this  winter  you  couldn't 
take  me  skating,  as  you  promised." 

"  Already  self-interest  has  entered  into  the  election. 
But  suppose,  Florry,  I  should  get  your  cousin,  Jack 
Willdower,  to  take  you  to  the  rink,  could  I  then  have 
the  benefit  of  your  vote  in  the  affirmative  ?" 

"  Geoffrey  !"  exclaimed  his  mother,  before  Florence 
could  answer,  "  I  am  astonished  that  you  should  even 
hint  with  approval  at  such  a  crime  as  bribery  at  elec- 
tions. To  be  sure,  this  little  episode  is  all  for  the  sake 


36  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

of  amusement — at  least,"  slie  added,  with  a  little  cough, 
"  I  suppose  so.  Still  jour  tone  of  levity  cannot  but  tend 
to  lead  an  impressionable  child  like  Florence  into  wrong 
paths,  and  predispose  to  the  formation  of  loose  opinions 
relative  to  that  curse  of  American  politics — bribery.  She 
is  just  now  a  close  student  of  '  McWholley's  Political 
Economy,'  in  which,  I  assure  you,  the  doctrines  ex- 
pressed are  very  different  from  those  I  have  heard  to- 
night." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  forgot  that  Florry 's  political  morals  were 
being  looked  after  by  Professor  McWholley.  We  had 
quite  a  little  dispute,  1  recollect,  relative  to  the  child 
studying  such  a  subject  as  political  economy.  I  looked 
into  McWholley's  book  and  1  found  it  pretty  tough 
reading.  How  far  have  you  got,  Florry  ?" 

"  Only  as  far  as  '  Capital,'  Uncle  Geoffrey." 

"  Well,  Florry,  stop  right  there,  and  you  will  be  fol- 
lowing the  example  of  every  one  of  your  countrymen 
and  women,  ( present  company  excepted,'  of  course. 
However,  keep  your  vote  as  it  is,  for  if  you  were  to 
change  we  shouldn't  have  the  benefit  of  the  views  of  the 
lady  who  presides  over  this  table.  Madame,"  he  con- 
tinued, bowing  to  Theodora,  "  you  have  the  casting 
vote.  My  fate  is  in  your  hands. " 

"  So  that,  after  all,"  said  Theodora,  with  a  merry 
laugh,  "  it  will  probably  result  in  your  being  guided  by 
what  I  told  you  when  you  first  mentioned  the  subject  to 
me—" 

"  And  that  was  ?"  interrupted  the  dowager. 

'  To  accept  by  all  means,  not  only  because  the  nation 
will  be  benefited  by  his  going  to  Congress,  but  because 
it  will  do  him  good,  and,  again,  because  he  wants  to  go. 
So  it  is  settled  ;  and  if  he  is  tendered  the  nomination  he 


A   FAMILY   DINNER.  37 

will  accept ;  and  if  lie  accepts  lie  will  be  elected,  I  hope. 
There,  however,  he  will  have  to  do  without  our  votes. ' ' 

Lai  waved  the  end  of  her  table-napkin  in  token  of  her 
delight  at  the  way  the  voting  had  gone,  and  Moultrie 
returned  thanks  to  his  supporters  in  a  humorous  little 
speech.  As  to  the  dowager,  she  seemed  for  the  moment 
to  be  somewhat  chagrined  at  the  result,  but  she  soon 
recovered  her  equanimity,  and  went  on  saying  sharp 
things  to  everybody  and  being  treated  good-naturedly  in 
return.  All  appeared  to  know  that  her  bark  was  worse 
than  her  bite,  and  that  she  often  expressed  the  most  pre- 
posterous opinions  merely  for  the  sake  of  having  the 
grievance  of  being  contradicted. 

*  i  I  knew  Count  Felinski  Tyscovus,  Lalage,  the  father 
of  your  John,"  said  the  dowager,  apparently  having 
gathered  together  her  forces  for  another  assault.  "  He 
married  a  friend  of  mine,  and  I  was  one  of  her  brides- 
maids, as  I  have  told  you  before." 

"  Yes,  grandmother,"  observed  Lai,  not  raising  her 
eyes  from  her  plate,  upon  which  there  was  a  mushroom 
she  was  strenuously  endeavoring  to  capture,  but  which 
continually  eluded  her  fork. 

"  He  was  a  very  remarkable  man,  a  great  scholar,  and 
yet — a  very  unusual  combination — a  thorough  man  of 
the  world,  using  the  expression  in  its  best  sense." 

"  Yes,  grandmother,  I  heard  you  say  the  other  day 
that  his  son  was  very  much  like  him." 

The  old  lady  looked  surprised  for  a  moment,  and  then, 
without  replying  to  Lai's  observation,  she  turned  to 
Moultrie. 

"  I  suppose  you  will  hardly  do  more  than  take  up  a 
hotel  residence  in  Washington,  and  that  you  will  leave 
Theodora  and  Lalage  here.  It  will  be  so  easy  for  you 


38  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

to  run  over  every  Friday  night,  if  you  wish  to  do  so, 
and  stay  till  Monday." 

"  Perhaps  you  are  anticipating  a  little,"  he  said,  smil- 
ing. "  I  am  not  elected  yet ;  but  I  think  I  may  say  that 
if  the  people  of  that  portion  of  the  city  of  New  York 
constituting  the — really,"  he  added,  after  a  pause,  "I 
forget  the  number  of  the  Congressional  District,  but 
whichever  it  is — require  my  services,  we  shall  probably 
take  a  house  there  and  set  up  an  establishment.  That  at 
least  was  the  conclusion  that  Theodora  and  I  came  to  last 
night." 

"  And  take  Lalage  away  from  all  the  educational  ad- 
vantages she  has  here  !  Oh,  Geoffrey  !  I  am  sure  you 
have  not  thought  of  this  matter.  Think  what  she  will 
lose  by  being  cut  off  from  her  studies  and  other  means 
of  mental  improvement.  And  think,  also,  of  what  she 
will  gain  by  being  introduced  into  such  a  society  as  that 
of  "Washington." 

"  Don't  trouble  yourself  about  Lalage,  mother, 
please,"  said  Moultrie,  gravely.  u  She  may  safely  be 
trusted  to  do  what  is  right  regardless  of  her  inclinations. 
Is  it  not  so,  dear  ?' '  he  continued,  turning  toward  her 
with  a  loving  smile  on  his  face. 

She  made  no  answer  save  by  a  look  that  he  under- 
stood, and  then  she  raised  his  hand  to  her  lips. 

u  Lai  will  decide  that  matter  for  herself ,  mother,"  said 
Theodora.  "  But  we  hope  you  will  spend  at  least  a  por- 
tion of  the  winter  with  us  should  Geoffrey  be  elected." 

ic  I  !  I  go  to  Washington  !  I  voluntarily  place  my- 
self in  such  a  hot-bed  of  imbecility,  and  vulgarity,  and 
corruption  !  My  dear,"  she  went  on,  with  a  tone  of 
outraged  dignity,  ff  if  you  knew  me  better  you  would 
not  make  such  a  suggestion." 


A   FAMILY   DINNER.  39 

"  But  it  was  I  who  proposed  it,"  interrupted  Moultrie. 

"  You  !"  exclaimed  liis  mother  ;  "  so  much  the  worse, 
then,  for  you  do  know  me  better." 

"  You  spent  a  season  there  once,  I  remember,"  said 
Moultrie,  in  his  defence,  "  and  if  I  recollect  aright  you 
appeared  to  enjoy  it.  Indeed,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  it 
was  there  you  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  gentle- 
man who  subsequently  became  your  husband  and  my 
father." 

"  Yes,  but  that  was  before  the  present  race  of  poli- 
ticians came  into  power.  However,  we  will  not  continue 
the  subject."  When  the  dowager  made  this  observa- 
tion, it  was  simply  a  feint  to  cover  her  retreat  in  a  re- 
spectable way.  "  This  is  your  birthday,"  she  continued, 
"  and  as  the  champagne  has  now  come,  I  propose  your 
health,  and  that  of  your  wife,  and  of  your  daughter,  and 
may  you  always  be  to  them  as  good  a  husband  and 
father  as  you  have  been  to  me  a  son." 

Moultrie  was  much  touched  by  these  words  of  his 
mother,  and  rising  from  his  chair,  bent  over  and  kissed 
her  forehead,  while  all  the  others  drank  the  toast  that  the 
dowager  had  proposed.  Then  Theodora,  and  Lai,  and 
Mrs.  Sincote,  and  Florence  kissed  Mouitrie  and  his 
mother,  so  that  it  looked  at  one  time  as  though  the 
dinner  was  going  to  end  in  a  grand  oscuiatory  divertise- 
ment,  as  the  eating  of  the  dessert,  which  had  just  begun 
to  be  served,  was  altogether  suspended.  However, 
when  every  one  had  recovered  composure,  and  the 
women  had  touched  their  eyes  with  the  corners  of  their 
handkerchiefs  to  absorb  the  tears  that  great  mental 
pleasure  so  generally  causes  to  flow  from  their  lachrymal 
apparatus,  the  discussion  relative  to  plans  for  the  future 
was  resumed.  There  was  no  doubt  that  Moultrie  would 


40  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

receive  the  nomination  for  Congress  from  an  indepen- 
dent political  organization,  made  up  of  the  best  men  of 
both  the  antagonistic  parties,  and  scarcely  a  doubt  of  his 
election  by  a  large  plurality.  In  the  depths  of  her  heart 
his  mother  was  rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  a  new  road  to 
distinction  being  offered  to  her  son,  but  she  was  so  con- 
stituted that  opposition  to  everything  suggested  by  others 
was  a  necessity  of  her  mental  organization.  As  Moultrie 
had  said  to  Theodora  soon  after  their  marriage,  she  took 
the  place  in  the  family  that  the  advocatus  diaboli  occu- 
pies when  a  pious  individual  is  proposed  for  canoniza- 
tion. She  brought  forward  all  possible  objections  to  the 
proposed  measure,  and  then  ended  by  becoming,  after 
its  adoption,  one  of  its  most  strenuous  supporters. 

In  the  present  instance  the  evidence  of  a  revolution  in 
her  sentiments  relative  to  Moultrie  going  into  politics, 
and  then  taking  up  a  permanent  residence  in  Washington 
during  the  sessions  of  Congress,  was  not  long  in  being 
forthcoming,  and  before  the  company  arose  from  the 
dinner-table  she  had  not  only  become  an  adherent  of 
both  plans,  but  had  admitted  that  it  was  just  possible 
that  she  might  accept  the  invitation  given  her  and  spend 
a  portion  of  the  coming  winter  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment. 

During  the  whole  dinner  it  was  observed  that  Florence 
had  exhibited  a  preoccupied  air  that  not  even  the  voting 
and  the  reference  to  skating  had  been  entirely  competent 
to  remove.  When  the  time  came  for  her  to  leave  for 
the  night,  she  stood  hesitatingly,  as  though  there  were 
still  something  on  her  mind,  which  her  uncle  observing, 
called  her  to  him,  and  said  : 

"What's  the  matter,  I  lorry?  You  look  as  though 
you  were  expecting  the  sudden  advent  of  the  day  of 


A   FAMILY   DINNER.  41 

judgment,  or  some  other  awful  catastrophe.  "What 
is  it?" 

"  She  has  been  told  not  to  speak  unless  she  is  spoken 
to,"  observed  her  grandmother,  looking  around  the  table 
as  though  she  thought  the  inhibition  might  properly  be 
applied  to  the  rest  of  the  company.  "  I  saw  that  she 
was  worried  about  something  or  other,  but  I  was  anxious 
to  see  whether  or  not  she  would  remain  silent  in  the  face 
of  the  evident  desire  to  speak  that  was  present.  Now 
you  have  ruined  my  experiment  in  pedo-discipline. " 

"  Pedo-discipline  !"  exclaimed  Moultrie,  laughing 
heartily  ;  "  what  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  learned  is 
pedo-discipline  ?  Oh,  yes,"  he  added,  as  his  classical 
knowledge,  rather  musty  from  disuse,  came  to  his  aid, 
"  I  recollect.  "Well,  mother,  if  there  is  ever  an  in- 
quisition established  for  the  special  discomfort  of  chil- 
dren, 1  hope  you  will  be  made  grand  inquisitor.  Have 
I  your  permission,  madam,  to  allow  Florry  to  tell  her 
troubles?" 

"  Geoffrey,  I  declare  you're  getting  to  be  incorrigible. 
I  really  do  not  know  to  what  the  change  in  you  is  to  be 
attributed.  No  ;  you  need  not  look  at  your  wife  with 
that  silly  expression  on  your  face.  She  has  had  nothing 
to  do  with  it.  I  noticed  the  beginning  before  your  mar- 
riage. But  1  got  no  thanks  for  all  the  pains  I  am  taking 
with  Florence's  education.  Julia  takes  no  interest  in  the 
matter"— "  Oh,  mother  !"  from  Mrs.  Sincote— "  and 
the  whole  burden  falls  on  me,' '  she  went  on,  not  deign- 
ing to  notice  the  interruption.  "  You  may  speak,  Flor- 
ence,' '  addressing  the  child,  who  had  remained  standing 
in  the  middle  of  the  room  with  her  hands  crossed  before 
her.  "  Tell  your  uncle  what  troubles  you,  my  dear. 
He  is  a  very  great  man,  and  when  he  gets  into  Congress 


42  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

intends  applying  a  torch  to  the  Potomac. "  This  sally 
of  the  old  lady's  caused  much  amusement,  and  when 
the  laugh  had  ceased  Florence  began. 

"  If  you  please,  uncle,  there  are  two  things — " 
"  One  at  a  time,  Florence,"  interrupted  the  dowager. 
"  How  often  have  I  told  you  not  to  impair  the  clearness 
of  any  statement  you  may  have  to  make  by  mixing  your 
ideas  as  though  you  were  making  a  plum-pudding.  If 
you  are  about  to  ask  questions,  keep  each  entirely  distinct 
from  the  others.  Now,  first  ?" 

"  If  you  please,  uncle,  what  is  a  horse-marine  ?" 
A  burst  of  laughter  from  all  but  the  dowager  greeted 
this  question. 

"  Now,  Geoffrey,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  hope  you  see 
the  folly  of  talking  nonsense  before  a  child  whose  mind 
is  yet  in  a  chrysalis  state,  and  who  is  therefore  not  able 
to  discriminate  between  your  sense  and  your  nonsense, 
if,"  she  added,  "  there  is  any  difference.  You  may 
shake  your  head  and  point  at  Theodora.  It  is  of  no 
consequence  who  used  the  word.  You  are  the  re- 
sponsible one.  '  Horse-marines,'  my  dear,"  turning  to 
Florence,  "  is  not  a  word  that  you  will  find  in  any  dic- 
tionary, unless  in  one  entirely  devoted  to  slang,  if  there 
is  such  a  book.  It  is  an  expression  used,  I  am  sorry  to 
say,  sometimes  by  educated  and  refined  people,  to  signify 
the  improbability  or  ridiculousness  of  something  told 
them.  If  there  was  such  a  being  as  a  horse-marine,  he 
would  be  a  naval  soldier  mounted  on  a  horse,  which,  of 
course,  would  be  an  absurdity.  I  hope,  Florence,  you 
will  never  be  guilty  of  uttering  such  a  slangy  word. " 
The  dowager  looked  around  triumphantly  as  she  delivered 
this  philippic,  and  then  inquired,  in  her  softest  tones, 
'  i  What  was  the  other  matter,  my  dear  ?" 


A   FAMILY  DINNER.  43 

"  Uncle  Geoffrey,  and  Aunt  Theodora,  and  Cousin 
Lalage  all  seemed  to  think  that  it  was  the  same  time  at 
Hellbender  that  it  was  here,  while  at  seven  o'clock  here 
it  was  only  about  five  o'clock  at  Denver,  and  not  five  at 
Hellbender  ;  so  you  see  Dr.  Willis  and  Mr.  Tyscovus 
were  not  saying  '  horse-marines  '  and  smoking  pipes. 
They  have  just  about  begun  now,"  she  continued,  look- 
ing at  the  clock  on  the  mantelpiece. 

"  Come  and  kiss  me,  my  dear  !"  exclaimed  the  dow- 
ager, holding  out  her  arms,  into  which  Florence  rushed, 
while  the  rest  clapped  their  hands  in  applause  of  the 
depth  of  learning  displayed  by  the  child.  "  Now,  you 
see  what  education  can  do.  I  almost  feel  repaid  for  all 
my  anxiety  on  your  account.  How  much  better,  my 
child,  to  cultivate  your  understanding  in  the  way  in 
which  I  perceive  you  are  doing,  than  to  fill  your  mind 
with  ideas  of  slang  expressions  like  £  horse-marines.' 
Professor  Maltanbroon  is,  I  see,  doing  his  duty  by  you. 
Now,  .good-night  ;  kiss  your  mamma,  and  make  your 
courtesies  to  your  uncle,  and  aunt,  and  cousin.  She  is 
a  very  intelligent  child,"  she  continued,  after  Florence 
had  gone  off  with  her  nursery  governess,  "  and  if  I  can 
only  keep  her  from  your  influence,  Geoffrey,  she  will 
make  a  remarkable  woman. ' ' 

"  If  she  were  my  daughter,"  said  Moultrie,  not  notic- 
ing his  mother's  parting  shot,  "  I  should  prefer  that  at 
her  age  she  should  be  skating  with  her  cousin  Jack 
Willdower  rather  than  to  see  her  bothering  her  little 
brain  with  questions  of  longitude.  What  does  it  profit 
a  girl  if  she  learns  that  Denver  is  thirty-one  degrees  of 
longitude  west  of  New  York  and  gets  Saint  Vitus's 
dance,  or  some  other  horrid  nervous  disease  ?" 

"  Florence  is  as  far  from  any  tendency  to  nervous  dis- 


44  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

ease  as  you  are.  I  think  you  might  give  me  credit, 
Geoffrey,  for  having  some  common-sense.  Heaven 
knows,  I  brought  up  you  and  Julia  carefully  enough, 
and  I  think  what  1  could  do  for  my  children  I  might  be 
trusted  to  do  for  my  grandchildren." 

"  Certainly  you  can,  my  dear  mother.  If  Florry  only 
fares  as  well  as  Julia  and  I  did,  and  develops  as  strong 
an  intellect,  you  will  have  your  reward.  But  what  is 
this?"  as  the  servant  brought  him  a  telegraphic  des- 
patch. "  Ah,"  he  continued,  "  from  our  absent  friends  : 
your  father,  my  dear,  and  Tyscovus,  Lai.  Sending 
congratulations  to  me  and  love  to  all.  It  is  pleasant  to 
be  thought  of  by  those  we  love.  Come  !"  as  he  rose 
from  the  table ;  "  Theodora  will  play  one  of  Chopin's 
Polonaises  for  us,  and  Lai  will  sing  that  new  song  she 
has  been  practising  for  a  week." 


CHAPTER  III. 

A    POLITICAL    MEETING. 

MOULTRIE  liad  received  the  nomination  for  Congress, 
and  a  great  degree  of  activity  was  being  manifested 
by  the  political  adherents  of  the  several  candidates  in 
placing  the  merits  of  their  respective  standard-bearers 
prominently  before  the  public.  According  to  the  in- 
dications, it  appeared  to  be  extremely  probable  that 
Moultrie  would  be  chosen  ;  but  the  managers  of  his 
canvass  were  old  party  hands,  who  did  not  allow  their 
confidence  to  interfere  with  their  energy.  Meetings  in 
favor  of  Moultrie  were  being  held  in  various  parts  of  the 
district,  at  many  of  which  he  had  appeared,  and  had 
delivered  addresses  in  explanation  of  his  political  princi- 
ples, and  of  the  course  which,  if  elected,  he  should  feel 
called  upon  to  follow.  The  question  upon  which  interest 
mainly  centred  was  that  of  the  tariff.  Neither  of  the 
candidates  of  the  old  political  organizations  had  ex- 
pressed themselves  sufficiently  clearly  on  the  subject  to 
satisfy  a  large  body  of  advanced  political  economists, 
who  were  in  favor  of  practical  free-trade,  and  who  had 
succeeded  in  bringing  a  good  many  workingmen  to  see 
the  subject  in  the  same  light  in  which  it  appeared  to 
them.  Moultrie  had  answered  in  a  very  satisfactory 
manner  the  questions  they  had  put  to  him,  and  although 
he  did  not  go  so  far  as  some  of  the  gentlemen  who  were 
active  in  his  support,  he  was  considered  to  be  sufficiently 


46  A   STKONG-MIKDED    WOMAN. 

enlightened  on  the  subject  to  serve  as  an  entering  wedge 
into  the  matter  of  revenue  reform. 

Thus,  Moultrie  was  very  far  from  being  in  favor  of  the 
abolition  of  custom  houses,  as  were  many  of  the  younger 
and  more  enthusiastic  members  of  the  u  Free-Trade 
Alliance,"  which  had  been  the  chief  instrument  in 
bringing  about  his  nomination.  lie  recognized  the  fact 
that  a  tariff  properly  adjusted  upon  articles  of  universal 
consumption  was  of  all  other  means  for  raising  revenue 
for  the  support  of  the  government  the  easiest  of  manip- 
ulation and  the  least  oppressive. 

But  at  the  same  time  he  had  a  holy  horror  of  "  protec- 
tion," as  it  is  called,  but  which,  in  his  opinion,  ought  to 
be  designated  "  destruction."  He  had  thought  long  and 
deeply  upon  the  subject,  and  had  arrived  at  the  opinion 
that  under  the  specious  plea  of  offering  protection  to 
American  labor,  and  pretending  to  give  employment  to 
the  workingman,  a  high  tariff  laid  upon  those  articles  of 
foreign  manufacture  or  growth  that  come  into  competi- 
tion with  our  products  not  only  taxed  the  people  at  large 
for  the  support  of  a  few,  but  was  really  calculated  to 
destroy  the  very  industries  it  was  intended  to  foster. 
Only  the  very  day  upon  which  he  had  been  nominated, 
Mr.  Curt,  a  shoe  manufacturer  in  West  Broadway,  who 
had  employed  at  one  time  over  five  hundred  men  and 
women,  had  called  upon  him  to  explain  how  the  high 
duty  on  shoes  was  ruining  his  business.  "  Not  only  is 
the  leather  taxed  at  a  high  rate,"  said-  this  gentleman, 
"  but  every  single  article  that  enters  into  the  construc- 
tion of  a  shoe — the  tools  with  which  it  is  made,  the  clothes 
the  workmen  and  workwomen  wear,  the  bread  they  eat, 
the  medicine  they  take  when  they  are  sick — everything, 
in  fact,  that,  directly  or  indirectly,  is  connected  with  a 


A   POLITICAL   MEETING.  47 

shoe  has  a  protective  tax  put  on  it.  As  a  consequence," 
he  continued,  "  I  cannot  make  shoes  as  cheaply  as  they 
can  make  them  in  England,  and,  accordingly,  I  have  no 
foreign  market.  I  used  to  send  every  year  thousands 
of  pairs  to  Brazil,  Mexico,  and  Cuba,  but  now  I  send 
none,  for  the  English  manufacturer  undersells  me.  My 
only  market  is  the  United  States.  Over-production  is 
the  consequence,  prices  fall,  and  I  have  been  obliged  to 
discharge  half  my  working  force.  I  want  no  '  protec- 
tion,' and  I  have  come  to  learn  from  your  own  mouth 
just  how  you  stand  on  this  question." 

Moultrie  had  no  difficulty  in  laying  his  views  before 
Mr.  Curt,  and  in  satisfying  that  gentleman  as  to  his  ex- 
act position  on  the  tariff  question.'  "If,"  said  the 
manufacturer,  on  taking  his  leave,  "  you  can  secure  a  re- 
duction of  fifty  per  cent  from  the  duty  on  shoes,  1  shall 
be  able  to  employ  double  the  number  of  men  and  women 
that  I  do  now,  for  then  I  shall  be  able  to  compete  with 
the  world. ' ' 

To  be  sure,  the  "  Protectionists  to  American  Industry" 
were  up  in  arms  against  Moultrie,  and  they  did  not  fail  to 
tire  their  batteries  upon  what  they  called  his  "  fine-spun 
theories."  They  alleged  that  he  was  of  all  men  least 
competent  to  discuss  a  question  of  the  kind,  or  to  under- 
stand it  in  its  minute  connections  with  every  condition  of 
American  life,  for  he  was  only  an  American  in  name, 
the  greater  portion  of  his  life  having  been  passed  and  his 
wealth  acquired  in  foreign  countries.  They  called  his 
attention  to  the  silk  manufacture,  which  was  being  built 
up  under  his  very  eyes,  and  solely  as  the  result  of  the 
high  duty  placed  upon  the  foreign  fabric.  They  ad- 
vanced the  fact  that  all  young  nations  were  protectionists, 
and  that  only  old  ones,  whose  industries  were  established, 


48  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  which  hence  did  not  need  the  fostering  care  of  the 
State,  were  in  favor  of  free- trade.  And  then  they  said, 
"  How  much  better  for  us  to  make  all  we  need  and  pay 
our  own  people  for  it,  than  to  buy  the  products  of 
foreign  nations,  and  send  the  gold  arid  silver  out  of  the 
country  to  pay  for  them  !"  "  Without  protection,"  said 
the  Hon.  Marcus  Aurelius  Jackson,  who  was  the  sitting 
member  and  desired  a  re-election,  "  we  should  be  a 
nation  of  farmers  and  miners,  with  a  stray  lumberman 
here  and  there.  Perhaps  that  is  what  the  gentleman,  my 
opponent,  desires,  for  I  understand  he  has  immense 
mining  interests.  It  probably  makes  no  difference  to 
him  where  his  gold  and  silver  and  copper  go.  The 
more  products  of  the  pauper  labor  of  Europe  that  come 
into  the  country,  the  greater  will  be  the  demand  for  his 
precious  metals  to  pay  for  them — metals  which,  I  am 
given  to  understand,  are  torn  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  not  by  the  Americans,  nor  by  our  Irish  or  German 
brethren,  nor  even  by  our  colored  friends, ' '  he  added, 
as  he  looked  around  the  hall  in  which  he  was  speaking, 
and  saw  a  small  group  of  negro  men  in  one  corner  of  the 
room,  "  but  by  the  offscourings  of  Asia,  the  degraded 
Mongol,  the  leprous  Chinese,  who,  being  too  low  in  the 
scale  of  creation  to  understand  what  an  American  home  is, 
and  whose  puny  bodies  can  be  kept  alive  on  an  amount 
of  food  upon  which  a  robust,  iron-muscled  Caucasian  or 
African  would  starve,  are  willing  to  work  for  a  tenth  part 
of  the  wages  he  would  have  to  pay  one  of  you.  Think  of 
this,  my  friends,"  he  continued,  after  he  had  recovered 
the  breath  spent  in  this  long  sentence,  "  and  give  your 
votes  to  him  who  knows  what  your  interests  are,  and 
who  is  prepared  to  serve  you  to  the  utmost  of  his  limited 
ability,  and  with  all  the  fidelity  he  has  hitherto  shown." 


A   POLITICAL   MEETING.  49 

This  speech  was  received  with  great  applause  by  a 
large  assemblage,  and  the  changes  were  rung  time  and 
again  on  the  points  brought  forward  by  the  honorable 
gentleman,  so  that  if  a  ballot  could  have  been  taken  then 
and  there  the  speaker  would  have  been  elected  by  an  al- 
most unanimous  vote. 

But  not  a  hundred  yards  distant,  and  in  another  hall, 
another  meeting  was  being  held,  and  this  was  constituted 
mainly  of  the  supporters  of  Moultrie,  together  with 
about  fifty  workmen  belonging  to  the  other  parties,  who 
had  been  specially  invited  to  hear  the  speech  of  the 
Hon.  Tom  Burton  on  the  question  "  Does  Protection 
Protect  ?' ' 

The  Hon.  Tom  Burton  was  a  citizen  of  Texas,  had 
served  the  people  of  his  State  in  the  Legislature  and 
in  Congress,  was  a  natural  born  orator  in  the  Texan 
sense  of  the  expression,  and  he  hated  a  protective  tariff  as 
religiously,  or  rather  as  ir-religiously,  as  the  devil  is  said 
to  hate  holy  water.  He  had  all  the  arguments  against  such 
an  institution  at  his  tongue's  end,  and  he  rattled  them 
off  so  volubly,  and  interspersed  his  arguments  with  so 
many  telling  anecdotes,  that  he  put  his  audience  at  once 
in  a  good  humor,  and  hence  did  that  which  of  all  things 
was  calculated  to  engage  their  attention,  and  to  cause 
them  to  regard  him  with  favor.  He  knew  perfectly  well 
that,  no  matter  how  strongly  a  speaker  may  feel  what  he 
is  saying,  if  he  says  it  in  a  dry  and  uninteresting  way  he 
will  weary  many  who  will  not,  or  cannot,  take  the 
trouble  to  follow  him.  He  recognized  the  force  with 
which  an  orator  who  makes  use  of  examples  and  illus- 
trations, or  tells  a  striking  story,  conveys  the  ideas  that  he 
is  seeking  to  impress  upon  his  hearers.  And  he  was  well 
aware  that  most  people  are  satisfied  to  have  others  do  all 
3 


50  A   STKONa-MLNDED   WOMAK. 

the  deep  reasoning  for  them,  and  to  give  them  only  the 
results.  However,  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton  was  a  valuable 
ally,  and  Moultrie's  managers  had  done  well  to  secure 
him.  It  is  true  they  had  to  pay  for  him.  The  Hon. 
Tom  was  a  luxury,  and  as  he  was  fully  aware  of  his  im- 
portance in  the  political  world,  he  made  those  who  needed 
his  services  put  their  hands  prettly  deeply  into  their 
pockets  and  bring  them  out  well  filled.  Still,  there  was 
no  reason  for  believing  that  he  ever  advocated  or  op- 
posed a  measure  against  his  conscience. 

The  hall  in  which  he  was  to  speak  was  full,  and  the 
invited  guests — the  fifty  or  more  workmen  mentioned — 
occupied  places  of  honor  on  the  platform,  on  which  also 
a  half  dozen  ladies  were  seated.  A  prominent  shipping 
merchant  presided,  and  there  w^re  twenty  vice-presi- 
dents, and  nearly  as  many  secretaries,  though  what  duties 
the  occupants  of  these  honorable  positions  had  to  perform 
was  not  apparent.  Their  names  were  read  out,  and  that 
was  the  last  of  them.  Probably  very  few  of  them 
attended  the  meeting. 

The  chairman  rose,  and  after  a  few  remarks  explana- 
tory of  the  objects  of  the  assemblage,  introduced  the 
Hon.  Tom  Burton  of  Texas,  "  whose  eloquence  was  a 
household  word  from  one  end  of  this  great  and  glorious 
Union  to  the  other,  and  who  had  made  a  special  study  of 
the  subject  of  the  tariff  in  all  its  relations  to  the  producer, 
manufacturer,  and  consumer,  and  for  whom  he  would 
now  ask  their  attention." 

Then,  amid  tremendous  applause,  the  honorable  gentle- 
man arose.  First  he  bowed  to  the  chairman,  then  to  the 
ladies,  then  to  the  fifty  workmen  in  their  places  of 
honor,  then  to  the  great  audience  before  him. 

He   began  with  a  funny  story,  which  set  every  one 


A   POLITICAL   MEETHSTG.  51 

to  laughing  ;  then  he  told  how  unequally  the  existing  tariff 
worked,  and  how,  with  protection  as  its  object,  it  never 
could,  although  formed  with  the  wisdom  of  all  the  po- 
litical tinkers  in  the  country,  be  anything  else  but  an 
oppression  upon  the  whole  nation  for  the  benefit  of  the 
few,  and  eventually  a  curse,  even  to  those  who  at  first 
might  derive  an  unfair  advantage  from  its  workings. 
All  this  and  much  more  he  said,  and  in  a  way  that,  if 
not  deep,  or  even  if  not  strictly  correct,  carried  conviction 
to  the  hearts  of  all  that  heard  him.  For  he  seemed  to 
believe  so  firmly  every  word  he  uttered,  that  his  very 
positiveness  was  sufficient  to  prevent  the  timid  ones  who 
heard  him  allowing  a  doubt  of  his  infallibility  to  arise  in 
their  minds.  Then,  with  a  panegyric  on  Moultrie,  in 
which,  while  giving  him  unstinted  praise,  he  scarcely 
passed  the  limits  of  good  taste,  he  sat  down  amid  the 
plaudits  of  the  meeting. 

Several  of  the  workmen  asked  him  pertinent  questions, 
to  all  of  which  he  answered  good-naturedly  and  apparent- 
ly satisfactorily,  and  the  chairman  was  about  to  declare 
the  assemblage  adjourned,  when  one  of  the  ladies  arose 
and  requested  permission  to  say  a  few  words.  A  hun- 
dred voices  from  various  parts  of  the  hall  cried  "  Go 
on,' '  and  the  chairman  bowing  his  consent,  she  proceeded 
with  her  remarks. 

But  hardly  had  she  gotten  beyond  the  opening  sen- 
tences— which,  however,  gave  no  clew  to  the  purport  of 
what  she  intended  to  say — than  the  large  assemblage 
broke  out  into  a  perfect  uproar  of  cheers  and  clapping  of 
hands.  The  cause  was  not  a  matter  of  doubt ;  for  com- 
ing down  the  aisle  were  Moultrie  and  three  or  four 
friends,  with  whom  he  had  been  making  a  tour  of  the 
district,  and  visiting  the  places  where  meetings  were 


52  A   STEONG-MINDED    WOMAK. 

being  held.  He  was  obliged  to  ascend  the  platform  to 
thank  the  people  for  their  attendance,  and  to  congratu- 
late them  and  himself  for  having  so  able  an  advocate  of 
the  principles  of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only  as  his  friend, 
the  Hon.  Tom  Burton.  Then,  amid  renewed  applause, 
he  sat  down,  and  the  lady  speaker  resumed  her  remarks. 

"  Your  chairman,"  she  said,  "  has  not  deemed  it 
necessary  to  ask  my  name  ;  and  as  I  am  probably  un- 
known by  personal  appearance — at  least  to  a  majority  of 
those  present — I  will  state  that  I  am  Rachel  Meadows, 
and  that  I  appear  here  to-night  as  the  advocate  of  wom- 
an's rights." 

'  i  But,  my  dear  madam, ' '  interrupted  the  chairman, 
"  this  is  a  meeting  called  for  an  entirely  different  pur- 
pose ;  and  however  much  some  of  us  may  be  in  favor 
of  extending  woman's  influence  and  power  in  political 
matters,  this  is  not  the  place  in  which  to  air  our  views." 

"  1  understand,"  replied  the  lady,  "  that  this  meeting 
was  called  for  the  purpose  of  advocating  the  election  of 
Mr.  Geoffrey  Moultrie  to  Congress,  and  for  placing  his 
claims  to  that  honor  before  the  people.  As  it  is  likely 
that  the  subject  of  woman's  rights  and  disabilities  will  be 
introduced  into  Congress  at  its  next  session,  I  think  it 
desirable  that  we  should '  know  how  Mr.  Moultrie  stands 
on  the  question.  It  is  true  that  we  have  no  votes,  but  I 
think  we  have  influence,  and  we  propose  to  use  it  hence- 
forth in  order  to  obtain  for  the  educated,  intelligent, 
quick-minded  women  of  America  what  you  give  to  every 
ignorant  foreigner  who  comes  to  your  shores.  I  had 
proposed  putting  my  interrogatories  to  you,  Mr.  Chair- 
man ;  but  as  the  candidate  is  now  present,  we  hope  to 
hear  from  him.  1  have  only  to  add  that  I  am  the  spokes- 
woman of  the  Committee  of  the  <  United  "Women  of 


A   POLITICAL   MEETING.  53 

America,'  and  that  we  are  sent  here  by  that  large  and 
influential  organization." 

"  But,  madam,"  rejoined  the  chairman,  "  the  ques- 
tion is  not  an  issue  of  the  present  campaign,  and — " 

"If  the  chairman  will  excuse  me,"  said  Moultrie, 
rising  and  coming  forward,  "  I  will  say  that  1  hope  the 
lady  may  be  allowed  to  proceed,  and  that  1  will  endeavor 
to  answer  any  questions  that  may  possibly  bear  a  relation 
to  my  course  as  a  member  of  Congress,  should  you  see  fit 
to  send  me  to  represent  you  in  that  body. ' ' 

Up  to  this  time  the  vast  assemblage  had  preserved  so 
complete  a  degree  of  quiet,  that,  to  use  an  exaggerated 
but  familiar  expression,  "  a  pin  might  have  been  heard  to 
drop."  It  was  evident,  however,  that  very  great  in- 
terest was  felt  in  this  episode,  and  certainly  that  there 
was  no  feeling  against  the  lady  who  wished  to  be  heard. 
This  was  rendered  still  more  apparent  by  the  applause 
which  greeted  Moultrie's  remarks.  Everybody  therefore 
waited  with  eagerness  for  what  was  next  to  come.  The 
chairman  turned  to  the  lady,  who  had  remained  standing 
while  Moultrie  was  speaking,  and  she  resumed  her  re- 
marks. 

Miss  Rachel  Meadows  was  not  unknown  to  the  read- 
ing or  the  listening  public  of  the  United  States,  for  she 
had  for  several  years  written  for  the  magazines  and  for 
the  newspaper  press  many  trenchant  articles  on  the 
woman  question,  and  had  spoken  to  a  like  effect  from  the 
lecture-platform  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Al- 
though on  the  present  occasion  she  had  maintained  her 
position  with  firmness  and  dignity,  it  was  evident  from 
the  slight  flush  that  mantled  her  handsome  face  and  the 
slight  nervous  motions  of  her  hands  that  she  felt  a  little 
out  of  place  before  an  audience  composed  entirely  of  men. 


54  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

She  did  not  look  as  though  she  were  over  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  and  her  manners  and  speech  were  those  of 
an  educated  woman  accustomed  to  associating  with  peo- 
ple of  refinement.  She  was  not  sufficiently  advanced 
in  years  to  warrant  the  designation  of  "  old  maid. ' ' 
Neither  was  she  deficient  in  those  personal  attractions,  the 
want  of  which,  and  the  consequent  inability  to  get  a  hus- 
band, are  popularly  supposed  to  be  the  chief  characteris- 
tics of  the  agitators  for  the  extension  of  woman's  rights 
and  privileges  to  an  equality  with  those  possessed  by  man. 

She  was,  perhaps,  a  little  over  the  medium  height  of 
women,  and  she  was  dressed  plainly  and  yet  in  the  per- 
fection of  neatness.  Her  hands  were  properly  gloved 
and  her  feet  nicely  shod.  As  to  her  face,  it  was  healthy 
looking  ;  her  features  were  not  large  enough  to  be  re- 
marked for  their  size,  or  so  small  as  to  give  the  idea  of 
insignificance,  and  it  was  full  of  expression  of  the  kind 
that  one  likes  to  see  on  a  woman's  face.  There  was 
nothing  hard  about  it  ;  the  lines  were  not  drawn  rigidly  ; 
the  contours  were  graceful  and  flowing  ;  and  as  she 
stood  there,  calm  and  self-possessed,  waiting  patiently 
for  the  decision  as  to  whether  she  should  or  should  not 
be  allowed  to  speak,  and  exhibiting  just  enough  emo- 
tional disturbance  to  show  that  she  was  a  woman,  the 
sympathy  of  the  audience  went  with  her,  and  one  strong 
point  was  gained  before  she  had  begun  to  state  her  case. 

a  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,"  she  said,  addressing 
Moultrie,  who  had  remained  standing,  "  for  coming  to 
my  aid,  but  it  is  no  more  than  I  expected  from  the  hus- 
band of  a  woman  who  has  shown  the  world  that  a  love  for 
science  is  not  incompatible  with  filial  and  wifely  duty. 
But  it  is  not  much  that  1  have  to  say,  and  it  is  not  my 
intention  to  advance  any  arguments  in  support  of  doc- 


A   POLITICAL   MEETING.  55 

trines  which  are  very  dear  to  many  women — for  we  think 
the  future  happiness  of  our  sex  depends  greatly  upon 
their  establishment — but  with  which,  and  with  what  can 
be  said  in  their  favor,  it  may  safely  be  assumed  that  you 
are  fully  acquainted.  I  merely  desire  to  ask  two  ques- 
tions, and  then,  whatever  may  be  your  answers,  I  shall 
have  no  more  to  say  : 

u  Pirst,  1  understand  that  a  bill  will  be  introduced 
into  the  next  Congress  providing  that  no  public  land 
shall  hereafter  be  devoted  to  any  college,  university,  or 
other  institution  of  learning  that  makes  any  discrimina- 
tion between  the  sexes  in  its  courses  of  instruction. 

61  Second,  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  allow  women  to 
vote  and  to  hold  offices  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and 
in  all  Territories  belonging  to  the  United  States. 

"  I  desire  to  know,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  of  the 
'  United  Women  of  America,'  whether,  in  the  event  of 
your  election  to  Congress,  you  will  support  these  meas- 
ures 2" 

She  spoke  with  perfect  ease  and  with  a  clear  and  dis- 
tinct voice,  which  was  heard  in  every  part  of  the  large 
room,  and  which  was,  moreover,  what  Moultrie  specially 
admired,  soft  and  melodious,  without  a  shrill  note  or 
piercing  tone  in  any  of  its  inflections. 

When  she  sat  down  there  was  a  murmur  of  applause 
throughout  the  hall,  subdued,  it  is  true,  but  none  the  less 
expressive  of  the  sympathy,  if  not  the  entire  approval, 
of  the  audience.  It  appeared  as  though  the  strong  men 
present  were  loath,  while  desirous  of  showing  their  re- 
spect for  the  speaker,  to  let  out  their  full  strength  in  the 
way  of  signifying  their  appreciation,  under  the  appre- 
hension that  to  do  so  would  be  an  act  of  discourtesy  to 
a  woman. 


56  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  I  am  very  glad,"  said  Moultrie,  "  to  have  the  op- 
portunity of  saying  a  few  words  upon  what  may  be 
called  the  '  woman  question,'  and  I  may  at  the  outset  of 
my  remarks  state  that  I  am  in  favor  of  every  woman  in 
this  and  every  other  land  being  allowed  all  possible 
facilities  for  studying  any  subject  in  science,  literature,  or 
art  that  she  chooses,  and  of  getting  her  living  in  any 
honorable  way  she  may  select.  These  are  her  rights 
as  a  human  being,  of  which  no  man,  or  body  of  men, 
should  have  the  power  to  deprive  her.  I  will  also  state 
— and  to  this  view  i  have  recently  become  a  convert — 
that  I  think  no  one  has  any  right  to  object  to  her  seeking 
her  education  wherever  she  thinks  she  can  get  it  best. 
If  she  wishes  to  go  to  Harvard,  or  Yale,  or  Columbia,  or 
any  other  seat  of  learning  from  which  she  is  now  ex- 
cluded, 1  think  she  ought  to  be  allowed  to  go,  provided 
she  has  arrived  at  years  of  discretion,  and  is  hence  pre- 
sumably competent  to  decide  for  herself.  But  I  am  free 
to  say  that  in  my  opinion  the  co-education  of  the  sexes 
is  inexpedient  ;  at  least  now,  when  the  details  of  plans 
to  be  followed  have  not  been  sufficiently  considered,  and 
while  the  world  is,  as  it  were,  unprepared  for  the  in- 
novation. I  feel,  however,  that  I  have  no  right  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  any  woman  who  thinks  differently, 
except  in  the  matter  of  giving  my  advice. 

'•'  Relative  to  the  specific  question  put  to  me,  I  have  to 
say  that  I  should  certainly  vote  against  the  proposed 
bill,  and  for  the  reason  that  it  would  be  of  no  practical 
benefit.  It  would  simply  be  declaratory,  and  would  not 
be  of  the  slightest  binding  force  on  any  subsequent  Con- 
gress having  the  disposition  of  the  public  lands. 

"  In  regard  to  the  second  measure  :  while  I  doubt  the 
expediency  of  conferring  the  franchise  and  the  right  to 


A   POLITICAL   MEETING.  57 

hold  any  State  office  upon  women,  I  am  in  favor  of  giv- 
ing them  both  privileges,  when  I  am  satisfied  that  they 
really  desire  them.  If  the  '  United  Women  of  America  ' 
can  convince  me  that  they  actually  represent  their  sex  in 
this  country,  and  especially  the  women  of  the  District 
of  Columbia  and  of  the  Territories,  I  will  vote  for  the 
proposed  bill  with  great  pleasure." 

He  sat  down  amid  the  most  tremendous  applause,  and 
then,  after  the  transaction  of  a  little  routine  business, 
such  as  the  appointment  of  committees  to  watch  the  polls 
and  to  bring  out  the  infirm  or  aged  voters,  the  meeting 
was  adjourned. 

"  They'll  use  all  their  influence  against  you,"  said 
the  Hon.  Tom  Burton  to  Moultrie,  as  they  walked  up 
Fifth  Avenue,  arm  in  arm,  on  their  way  to  the  latter's 
residence,  to  smoke  a  cigar  and  have  a  little  quiet  talk. 
"  There  are  perhaps  fifty  men  in  the  district  who  are  in 
strong  sympathy  with  them,  and  who,  of  course,  will  now 
be  dead  against  you,  and  they  can  probably  control  as 
many  more  for  the  asking — men  who  don't  care  a  six- 
pence one  way  or  another,  and  who  will  vote  just  as 
somebody  they  like  tells  them.  Fancy  being  visited  by 
Miss  Rachel  Meadows  and  asked  to  vote  for  Marcus 
Aurelius  Jackson,  or  Titus  Andronicus  O'Leary,  or  who- 
ever the  other  fellow  may  be  !  By  George  !  I'm  afraid 
I  should  give  in  myself,  strong  as  I  am  in  the  faith." 

He  laughed  pleasantly  as  he  spoke,  and  without  giving 
Moultrie  time  to  interpose  a  word  went  on  : 

"  You  might  have  been  a  little  less  decided  with  them. 
You  ought  to  have  let  off  a  few  theoretical  abstractions 
relative  to  lovely  woman  and  the  important  place  she 
occupies  in  the  '  Grand  Arcanum  of  Nature.'  I  don't 
know  what  the  (  Grand  Arcanum  of  Nature '  is,  but  1 


58  A   STKONG-MLNDED   WOMAN. 

use  it  a  great  deal  in  Texas,  and  it  always  tells.  I  sup- 
pose, from  first  to  last,  I've  got  as  many  as  a  thousand 
votes  by  the  judicious  use  of  that  expression.  Then  you 
ought  to  have  made  more  reference  to  the  intelligence 
of  the  committee,  and  especially  of  the  spokeswoman,  and 
have  piled  on  the  compliments  to  them  and  the  whole 
sex,  and  have  ended  by  declaring  that  when  you  gave  a 
vote  against  the  interests  of  the  sex  to  which  your 
mother,  your  sister,  your  wife,  your  daughter,  belonged, 
might  your  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  your  mouth. 
Oh,  if  I  had  had  the  answering  of  those  questions  I 
wouldn't  have  committed  you  one  iota  ;  I'd  have  had 
all  the  ladies  in  a  good  humor,  and  they'd  have  gone 
away  convinced  that  you  were  sound  on  the  woman  ques- 
tion !  Consequently,  you  would  have  had  a  hundred 
more  votes  than  you  will  have.  You  will  probably  be 
able  to  do  without  them,  but  you  are  no  politician." 

Moultrie  laughed.  "  I  am  afraid  you  are  right,"  he 
said,  "and  that  I  never  will  be  able  to  refrain  from 
speaking  exactly  as  I  feel.  But  I  think  you  overlook 
another  side  of  the  question,  that  which  relates  to  those 
men  who  would  have  been  disgusted  with  any  shilly- 
shallying on  a  matter  of  great  importance,  and  who 
would  have  voted  against  me  if  I  had  attempted  a  befog- 
ging process,  but  who  now  will  support  me. ' ' 

"  There  may  be  something  in  that,"  remarked  the 
Hon.  Tom,  reflectively,  "  but  not  much  ;  you  see,  the 
millennium  hasn't  come  yet,  and  when  it  does  it  won't 
show  itself  first  in  politics.  For  the  present,  therefore, 
when  you  are  cornered,  as  you  were  to-night,  '  glittering 
generalities '  are  the  things  to  use.  They  always  ex- 
cite enthusiasm,  and  make  all  feel  that  you  are  their 
friend.  But,  by  Jove  !  Miss  Rachel  Meadows  is  a  stun- 


A   POLITICAL   MEETING.  59 

ner.  Did  you  notice  her  eyes,  and  her  glorious  mouth, 
with  its  two  rows  of  pearls  ?  And  her  pretty  little  hands 
and  feet  ?  A  pretty  foot  gets  me." 

"  You  certainly  seem  to  be  '  got, ' ' '  said  Moultrie,  with 
a  laugh.  "  I  shouldn't  be  surprised  to  find  you  erelong 
among  the  most  strenuous  supporters  of  ' woman's 
rights.'  I've  known  of  Miss  Meadows  for  some  time, 
but  never  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  her  until  to-night." 

"  I've  seen  her  before.  1  heard  her  lecture  in  Galves- 
ton  last  winter  for  two  hours  on  a  stretch,  and  when  she 
got  through  I  was  the  only  one  left  in  the  room  ;  for, 
you  see,  we  don't  believe  much  down  our  way  in  what 
you  call  c  woman's  rights.'  Our  women  have  all  the 
rights  they  want,  and  they  seem  to  be  not  altogether  dis- 
satisfied with  their  position." 

"  That's  what  their  '  advanced'  sisters  would  call  the 
6  supineness  of  their  slavery.'  There's  a  good  deal  in  the 
question,  however,  and  my  mind  is  still  unsettled  in  re- 
gard to  several  of  the  more  important  points  involved. 
I  shall  give  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  them  soon,  and 
try  to  arrive  at  more  definite  conclusions." 

"  I'm  thinking  much  more  of  Rachel  Meadows  than  I 
am  of  her  doctrines,"  said  Burton.  "  The  poor  girl 
was  awfully  cut  up  as  she  saw  one  after  the  other  of  the 
audience  slipping  out ;  but  she  went  through  to  the  end, 
and  seemed  a  little  relieved  when  I  complimented  her  on 
the  strength  of  her  arguments  and  on  her  courage.  I 
offered  to  escort  her  to  the  hotel,  which  was  only  across 
the  street,  but  she  had  her  maid  with  her,  and  she  de- 
clined with  thanks.  1  never  saw  her  again  till  to-night. 
I  don't  think  she  recognized  me,  for  since  then,  as  I 
always  do  when  I  come  to  your  arctic  regions,  I  have 
allowed  my  full  beard  to  grow." 


60  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Why  did  you  not  make  yourself  known  to  her  ?" 
"  Because,  my  dear  fellow,  I'm  afraid  of  her.  I'm 
half  in  love  with  her  already,  but  I  wouldn't  marry  her 
for  the  world,  or  any  other  woman  holding  the  views  of 
the  relations  of  the  sexes  that  she  holds.  She  knows 
too  much  for  me,  or  at  least  thinks  she  does.  I  steer 
clear  of  intellectual  women. ' ' 

Moultrie  did  not  tell  his  companion  that  he  himself 
had  married  a  woman  who  had  "  dissected  all  animals, 
from  a  man  to  a  caterpillar,"  had  performed  experiments 
in  evolution  and  on  the  velocity  ofjjiejierve-force,  had 
lectured  to  large  assemblies,  and  held  advlmcecTviews  in 
regard  to  the  education  of  women.  He  would  have  men- 
tioned these  facts  had  there  been  opportunity  ;  but  they 
had  just  then  arrived  at  the  door  of  his  house,  and  Bur- 
ton, announcing  that  as  it  was  late  he  would  not  go  in, 
lighted  his  cigar,  and  strolled  down  the  avenue  to  his 
hotel. 


CHAPTEE  1Y. 

MISS    BKEHEN    SPEAKS. 

RACHEL  MEADOWS  and  her  five  companions,  members 
of  the  committee  of  the  "  United  Women  of  America," 
left  the  meeting  feeling  that  for  the  time  they  had  been 
defeated,  and  jet  none  the  less  determined  to  maintain 
an  undismayed  attitude,  and  to  persevere  in  their  efforts 
toward  reform.  Two  carriages  were  in  waiting  for 
them,  and  they  drove  rapidly  to  Rachel's  rooms  in  the 
"  Joan  of  Arc,"  an  apartment  house,  well  and  hand- 
somely built,  and  situated  in  one  of  the  up-town  streets 
between  Fifth  and  Sixth  avenues.  Here  she  lived,  with 
her  widowed  mother,  in  comfort,  almost  in  affluence, 
for  the  elder  lady  had  an  income  of  nearly  three  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  and  the  daughter,  by  her  pen  and  her 
lectures,  had  no  difficulty  in  adding  more  than  as  much 
again  to  the  common  fund. 

The  six  ladies  entered  the  "  Joan  of  Arc,"  and  were 
Boon  comfortably  seated  in  Rachel's  snug  and  artistically 
furnished  parlor,  which  at  the  same  time  served  as 
library  and  writing-room.  During  the  drive  nothing 
had  been  said  in  regard  to  the  repulse  they  had  encoun- 
tered, for  there  could  be  no  thorough  interchange  of 
condolences  and  indignation  while  the  committee  was 
divided  into  two  equal  parts  in  the  two  carriages.  But 
now  that  there  was  reunion,  each  one,  with  the  exception 
of  Rachel,  was  loud  in  her  denunciations  of  Moultrie, 


62  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  in  the  expression  of  her  determination  to  do  all  in 
her  power  to  prevent  his  being  elected  to  Congress. 

"  To  think,"  said  Mrs.  Cross,  who  had  been  divorced 
from  two  husbands,  and  was  living  rather  uncomfortably 
with  the  third,  but  who  was  a  pretty,  young  woman, 
scarcely  older  than  Rachel — "  to  think  that  a  man  owing, 
as  does  Mr.  Moultrie,  whatever  position  he  has  to  his 
wife,  who  really  is  intelligent  and  highly  educated, 
should  dare  to  treat  us  in  that  contemptuous  manner, 
just  as  if  we  were  a  lot  of  children  with  undeveloped 
brains  !" 

u  I  am  afraid  he  is  very  narrow-minded  and  very 
ignorant,"  observed  Miss  Richardson,  a  maiden  lady  of 
thirty-five,  with  literary  and  artistic  aspirations.  "He 
evidently  does  not  know  that  more  than  a  thousand 
years  ago  ladies  sat  in  the  English  Parliament  ;  that  even 
during  the  reign  of  William  the  Conqueror  women 
voted  and  served  their  country  in  the  Commons,  and 
that  peeresses  sat,  in  their  own  right,  in  the  House  of 
Lords.  1  think  I  can  control  six  votes,  and  every  one 
shall  be  cast  for  Jackson." 

"  His  ignorance  and  impertinence  are  more  pronounced 
than  1  have  ever  before  seen,  even  in  a  man,"  exclaimed 
Miss  Billy  Bremen,  an  excitable  young  lady  of  a  little 
over  twenty  years  of  age,  but  who  had  some  prominence 
in  the  "  United  Women  of  America,"  due  to  the  fact 
that  her  father,  a  wealthy  butcher,  had,  when  he  died, 
two  years  before,  left  her  half  a  million  of  dollars  in 
United  States  bonds,  besides  the  proprietorship  of  his 
butchering  establishment,  from  which  she  derived  an 
income  of  over  twenty  thousand  a  year. 

Her  father,  an  honest  German,  had  arrived  in  the 
country  when  Billy  was  still  an  infant  in  arms.  He  was 


MISS   BREMEN   SPEAKS.  63 

called  Johann  Schmidt ;  but  when  asked  by  an  official 
his  name  on  landing,  he,  thinking  he  was  required  to 
tell  where  he  had  sailed  from,  answered  "  Bremen,"  and 
he  afterward  found  it  so  very  inconvenient  to  get  rid  of 
the  designation  that  he  concluded  to  adopt  it. 

His  daughter  had  been  christened  Billigheim,  from 
the  little  hamlet  in  which  she  was  born  ;  but  this  name, 
having  been  found  impracticable  both  at  home  and 
among  her  school  companions,  it  had  been  shortened  to 
Billy,  and  she  was  never  called  by  any  other  appellation. 

Miss  Billy  was  a  stout,  fair-skinned,  fair-haired,  and 
blue-eyed  young  woman,  whose  broad,  fat,  and  com- 
monplace face  was  good-humored  enough  so  long  as 
nothing  occurred  to  disturb  her  equanimity.  But  when 
crossed,  even  in  matters  of  the  slightest,  or  even  of  no 
importance,  it  became  purple  in  color,  and  her  small, 
expressionless  eyes  started  forward  through  their  little 
slits,  and  looked  as  though  they  were  about  to  pop  out 
of  her  head.  The  doctor  had  warned  her  that  she  must 
not  expose  herself  to  situations  in  which  there  was  any 
liability  to  the  excitation  of  anger  or  of  other  strong  and 
suddenly-produced  emotion,  as  he  was  afraid  an  epileptic 
paroxysm  might  some  day  be  produced.  But  she  had 
persisted  in  running  all  risks  of  the  kind,  and  thus  far 
no  serious  trouble  had  been  produced. 

She  had  received  a  tolerably  fair  education,  so  far  as 
mere  schools  could  give  it,  but  her  mind  was  thoroughly 
untrained  to  habits  of  serious  thought,  and  was,  more- 
over, small,  mean,  and  malicious  in  all  its  impulses. 

Her  views  on  the  "  woman  question"  were,  however, 
more  advanced  than  those  of  any  other  member  of  the 
committee,  though  why  she  had  ever  been  drawn  into  the 
movement  no  one  knew.  She  had  first  appeared  on  the 


64  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

scene  with  a  large  subscription,  and  that  had  been  suffi- 
cient to  pave  her  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  chief  mem- 
bers of  the  "  United  Women  of  America,"  and  to  bring 
her  into  notice  as  a  reformer. 

And  she  professed  to  hate  the  male  sex,  individually 
and  collectively,  with  a  hatred  that  nothing  seemed  com- 
petent to  extinguish  or  lessen.  Unfortunately,  as  she 
used  to  say,  she  could  not  get  along  without  men  ;  but 
that  was  entirely  owing  to  social  prejudices  that  stood  in 
the  way  of  women  doing  certain  kinds  of  work,  and  to 
the  ignorance  and  the  indolence  that  prevented  them 
making  attempts  to  supplant  man.  It  is  true  that  the 
efforts  Miss  Billy  had  made  in  this  direction  had  termi- 
nated disastrously,  and  had  to  be  abandoned  after  they 
had  cost  any  amount  of  vexation  and  no  small  loss  of 
money.  Thus,  she  had  hired  a  coach  woman  ;  but  the 
first  day  she  drove  her  mistress  in  a  stylish  coupe,  with  one 
big  gray  horse,  she  knocked  down  and  ran  over  a  little 
hunchback  boy  just  in  front  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel, 
and  Miss  Billy  was  mulcted  in  damages  to  the  extent  of 
five  thousand  dollars,  besides  the  costs  of  suit  and  law- 
yer's fees,  footing  up  a  grand  total  of  eight  thousand  two 
hundred  and  seventeen  dollars  and  sixty-three  cents. 

Then  she  had  dismissed  the  superintendent  of  her 
abattoir ',  a  man  who  had  served  her  father  faithfully  for 
many  years,  and  had  put  in  his  place  a  big  burly  woman, 
with  instructions  to  get  rid  gradually  of  all  the  men  em- 
ployed in  killing  and  dressing  the  animals,  and  to  replace 
them  with  women.  For  twenty-four  hours  the  woman 
manager  did  very  well ;  but  the  next  day  was  slaughtering 
day,  when  it  became  necessary  to  do  some  hard  and 
rather  disagreeable  work,  which,  however,  she  thought 
she  understood  better  than  her  subordinates.  She  inter- 


MISS   BKEMEN   SPEAKS.  65 

fered  to  such  an  extent  that  every  hand  employed  in  the 
establishment  stopped  work  and  walked  off,  leaving  the 
manager  in  complete  solitude,  with  forty  beeves  and 
as  many  more  calves  and  sheep  lying  on  the  floor  dead, 
but  undressed,  and,  consequently,  not  ready  for  market. 
It  was  the  middle  of  an  exceedingly  hot  summer,  and  be- 
fore other  assistance  could  be  obtained  the  whole  had 
spoiled,  entailing  a  direct  loss  of  several  thousand  dollars, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  injury  done  to  her  trade. 

These  had  been  expensive  lessons,  and  had  not  been 
unheeded  by  Miss  Billy,  though  she  groaned  inwardly 
and  outwardly  every  day  of  her  life  at  the  futility  of  all 
her  efforts  to  get  along  in  the  world  without  the  aid  of 
the  sex  she  so  much  affected  to  despise. 

From  all  of  which  the  reader  will  perceive  that  Miss 
Billy  Bremen  was  a  young  woman  of  strong  parts,  with 
a  will  of  her  own  and  with  sufficient  individuality  to 
have  convictions  up  to  which  she  endeavored  to  live, 
though  not  entirely  with  the  success  she  desired.  She 
was  not  altogether  honest  in  her  way  with  the  world — 
that  is,  she  was  disposed  to  be  sly  and  to  make  an  unfair 
use  of  any  advantage  that  she  might  have  obtained.  She 
kept  a  corps  of  spies  watching  the  men  in  her  employ, 
and  whose  duty  it  was  to  report  the  slightest  infringe- 
ment of  the  regulations  she  had  laid  down.  She  did  not 
stop  here  ;  for  the  members  of  this  inquisitorial  body — all 
of  whom  were  women — were  instructed  to  carry  their 
observations  into  the  daily  lives  of  her  workmen,  so  that 
she  had  a  more  or  less  complete  and  accurate  biography 
of  every  individual  to  whom  she  paid  wages.  The  more 
men  she  had  in  her  power,  she  thought,  the  more  power 
she  would  have  over  the  men. 

"  His  ignorance  and  impertinence   are  unbounded," 


66  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

she  repeated.     "  I  have  had  experience  with  many  men, 
but  he  is  the  very  worst." 

No  one  answered  this  assertion,  and  Miss  Billy,  with 
her  face  the  color  of  a  cold  buckwheat  cake,  relapsed 
into  silence. 

Dr.  Sarah  Brown,  a  spruce-looking  little  woman  with 
snapping  black  eyes,  thought  an  address  should  be  printed 
and  distributed  to  the  public.  But  Mrs.  Swift  Forest, 
who  kept  a  large  millinery  establishment  on  Sixth 
Avenue,  declared  that  they  would  only  waste  their 
money  by  the  proposed  course,  for  that  people  would 
not  read  such  documents.  She  was  of  the  opinion  that 
the  plan  that  offered  the  best  chance  of  bringing  Moul- 
trie  around  to  their  view  was  to  interview  his  wife,  and 
to  try  to  secure  her  influence  with  him  on  their  side. 

All  had  now  spoken  but  Rachel,  and  all  looked  toward 
her  as  though  expecting  an  expression  of  views  from  one 
ivhom  they  regarded  as,  in  some  respects,  their  leader. 
But  she  did  not  appear  to  be  desirous  of  saying  anything 
on  the  subject.  She  was  evidently  thinking  deeply  of 
what  had  occurred,  and  had  given  very  little  attention 
to  the  indignant  remarks  that  had  fallen  from  the  lips  of 
the  other  members  of  the  committee. 

Miss  Billy  Bremen,  however,  was  the  most  irrepress- 
ible of  those  present.  She  walked  up  and  down  the 
floor,  swinging  her  fat  hands  and  stamping  her  broad 
feet  with  an  energy  that  gave  an  idea  of  the  storm  that 
was  raging  within.  Finally  she  stopped  immediately  in 
front  of  where  Rachel  was  sitting,  and  sticking  her  hands 
into  the  pockets  of  her  jacket  as  far  as  they  would  go, 
while  her  face  became  the  color  of  a  pickled  cabbage, 
began  to  talk,  but  in  a  voice  so  husky,  and  with  such 
extreme  rapidity,  that  it  was  difficult  for  Rachel  to  com- 


MISS   BREMEN   SPEAKS.  67 

prehend  what  she  was  saying.  At  last  she  succeeded,  in 
a  measure,  in  restraining  her  exuberance  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  she  could  make  herself  understood. 

"  It  was  you  he  insulted,  Miss  Meadows  !"  she  gasped. 
fi  I  wonder  how  you  can  sit  there  looking  as  cool  as  a 
pickerel.  It  makes  my  blood  boil  to  think  of  it.  It 
was  an  outrage.  To  dare  to  tell  us  that  we  didn't  know 
our  own  business  !  And  you  are  going  to  stand  all 
this?"  she  continued,  looking  fiercely  at  Rachel.  "I 
thought  you  had  more  spirit." 

"  Don't  speak  to  me  in  that  way,  please,"  said  Rachel, 
calmly,  "  and  don't  stand  in  that  manner  before  me.  It 
is  unpleasant,  and  not  what  I  am  accustomed  to." 

"  Probably  not,"  answered  Miss  Billy,  in  a  sneering 
tone.  "  If  you  were,  you  would  have  acted  to-night 
with  more  courage.  No  wonder  we  are  oppressed  when 
those  who  pretend  to  be  our  leaders  show  the  white  flag, 
and  run  as  soon  as  the  enemy  comes  in  sight.  I  am 
ashamed  of  you  !  Yes,  ashamed  of  you  !  For  one 
single  instant  I  wish  1  were  a  man." 

"  And  if  you  were,"  rejoined  Rachel,  still  with  quiet 
composure,  "  what  would  you  do  ?" 

"  What  would  I  do  ?  what  would  I  do,  Miss  Meadows  ? 
I'll  tell  you  what  I  would  do,"  coming  still  closer,  till 
she  fairly  stood  over  Rachel,  and  looking  at  her  with 
fury  in  her  eyes — "  I'd  beat  you  !"  and  as  she  hissed 
out  these  words  she  shook  both  fists  in  Rachel's  face,  as 
though  she  really  were  going  to  strike  her. 

Rachel  rose  to  her  feet,  with  an  expression  of  superb 
dignity  on  her  face  and  in  her  bearing,  before  which 
Miss  Billy  was  fairly  cowed.  "  Leave  my  house  in- 
stantly,' '  said  the  indignant  woman,  pointing  to  the  door, 
as  the  impertinent  little  butcheress  slunk  behind  the 


68  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

portly  form  of  Mrs.  Cross,  in  the  endeavor  to  escape  the 
look  of  anger  and  scorn  that  flashed  from  Rachel's  eyes. 
"  Go,"  she  continued,  "  at  once,  or  1  will  call  a  police- 
man to  take  you  out." 

"  Oh,  Miss  Meadows,  please  don't  proceed  to  such  an 
extreme  measure  !"  exclaimed  Miss  Richardson,  while 
the  other  ladies  began  adjusting  their  wraps,  preparatory 
to  getting  cut  of  the  way.  "  Remember  that  the  good 
name  of  the  (  United  "Women  of  America  '  is  at  stake. 
If  this  most  unfortunate  incident  should  get  into  the 
newspapers — as  it  will  if  you  call  a  policeman — it  will 
ruin  us  in  the  estimation  of  the  public.  Come,  Miss 
Bremen  !"  turning  to  Billy,  who  had  not  yet  gotten  over 
her  fright  at  Rachel's  majestic  anger.  "  Come  !  I  am 
going,  and  I  will  see  you  safely  to  your  carriage. ' ' 

Miss  Billy  thought  she  detected  in  the  manner  exhib- 
ited by  Miss  Richardson  and  the  other  ladies  some  indi- 
cations of  a  certain  amount  of  sympathy  with  her  in  her 
attack  on  Rachel.  She  was  an  obstinate  little  wretch 
when  her  blood  was  up,  and  she  thought  she  was  safe. 
She  had  long  felt  that  Rachel  failed  to  treat  her  with  the 
deference  which  she  thought  was  due  to  her  wealth  and 
her  position  as  a  woman  of  business,  and  she  concluded, 
while  Miss  Richardson  was  speaking,  that  she  would 
never  have  a  better  opportunity  than  the  present  to  vent 
her  spite,  surrounded,  as  she  imagined  herself  to  be,  by 
sympathizing  friends.  The  threat  of  the  police  did  not 
disturb  her  when  she  had  had  a  little  time  to  collect  her 
thoughts,  for  she  knew  enough  of  those  guardians  of  the 
public  peace  in  the  city  of  New  York  to  be  aware  of  the 
fact  that  when  sent  for  it  would  be  at  least  half  an  hour 
before  one  of  them  could  make  his  appearance,  and  long 
before  that  time  had  expired  she  would  have  accom- 


MISS   BREMEN  SPEAKS.  69 

plished  her  object,  and  have  been  on  her  way  to  her  resi- 
dence in  East  Seventy- fifth  Street. 

"  You  needn't  trouble  yourself  about  the  policeman, 
Miss  Meadows,"  she  said,  as  soon  as  Miss  Richardson  had 
ceased  speaking,  and  Rachel  had  just  put  her  finger  on 
the  little  button  of  the  electric  bell  in  order  to  summon 
a  servant.  "  I've  only  a  word  to  say,  and  then  I'll  go 
with  these  ladies,  my  friends,"  she  added,  waving  her 
pudgy  right  hand  so  as  to  embrace  them  all  in  its  sweep. 
"  A  pretty  woman  you  are  to  set  yourself  up  as  a  re- 
former. I  know  why  you  took  that  Mr.  Moultrie's  an- 
swer so  quietly,  and  why  you  did  not  dare  reply  to  him. 
You're  in  love  with  him  ;  that's  what  you  are,"  she  con- 
tinued, growing  bolder  with  the  sound  of  her  own  words, 
and  again  advancing  toward  Rachel  and  shaking  her  fist 
in  her  face.  "  I  could  see  it  all  the  time  he  was  speak- 
ing. You  !  in  love  with  a  married  man  !  I'll  ruin  him  ; 
I've  got  a  hold  on  him  that  he  little  suspects.  He'll 
never  be  elected  !  And  if  ever  you  dare  to  talk  about  me 
I'll  tell  the  whole  world  that  you're  in  love  with  him. 
Yes  !  and  what's  more,  I'll  tell  his  wife.  Come,  ladies, 
let  us  leave  this  model  reformer  to  think  of  her  lover  !" 

Long  before  Miss  Billy  had  finished  this  abusive  har- 
angue Rachel  had  sunk  into  a  chair,  completely  over- 
whelmed by  the  force  and  volubility  with  which  each 
successive  malicious  falsehood  was  uttered.  She  was 
helpless  ;  she  could  no  more  have  pressed  the  little  but- 
ton that  set  the  electric  bell  in  motion  than  she  could 
have  flown.  She  could  only  lie  back  in  her  chair  with 
her  eyes  half  closed,  waiting,  with  a  painful  sense  of 
constriction  in  her  throat  that  almost  suffocated  her,  for 
this  horrible  woman  to  end  her  tirade  and  get  out  of  her 
presence.  But  Miss  Billy  was  not  done  yet.  She  had 


70  A  STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

adjusted  her  outside  clothing  to  suit  herself,  though  in 
her  agitation  and  excitement  she  had  gotten  several  of 
her  "  things"  awry.  She  stood  by  the  door,  surrounded 
by  Mrs.  Cross,  Mrs.  Dr.  Sarah  Brown,  and  Mrs.  Swift 
Forest,  who  formed  a  sort  of  bodyguard  for  her  protec- 
tion in  case  an  assault  should  be  made,  when  suddenly 
she  rushed  past  them,  and  again  stood  over  Rachel,  look- 
ing down  at  her  with  an  expression  of  the  most  intense 
vindictiveness  on  her  flat,  vulgar  face. 

"  I've  got  him  under  my  thumb,  1  want  you  to  know, 
miss.  Yes,  under  my  very  thumb  !"  putting,  as  she 
spoke,  the  thumb  of  her  right  hand  into  her  left  palm, 
and  grinding  the  two  surfaces  together  as  a  glazier  does 
when  he  has  a  piece  of  putty  between  them,  "  and  I 
mean  to  crush  him,  too,"  she  continued,  sticking  both 
hands  close  to  Rachel's  face,  "  just  like  that!"  giving 
an  extra  degree  of  strength  to  the  operation,  so  that  it 
really  looked  as  though  she  would  either  wriggle  her 
thumb  out  of  joint,  or  bore  a  hole  in  her  palm.  u  Now 
I'm  going,  and  1  never  mean  to  darken  your  doors 
again  ;"  with  which  statement — the  only  pleasant  one 
poor  Rachel  had  heard  her  make — she  darted  from  the 
room,  followed  closely  by  her  three  sympathizing  friends, 
and  leaving  Miss  Richardson  alone  with  Rachel. 

"  Don't  mind  her,  dear,"  said  Miss  Richardson,  kneel- 
ing beside  the  poor  girl  and  putting  her  arms  around 
her.  "  She  is  a  vulgar  little  beast  at  best,  but  I  think 
she  is  mad — stark,  staring  mad.  And  I  think  the  other 
three  are  as  bad  as  she,  if  not  worse,  for  they  have  been 
brought  up  with  some  pretensions  to  gentility,  whereas 
she  was  almost  born  in  the  slaughter-house,  and  has 
lived  in  it  all  her  life. ' ' 

"  I  can't  conceive  why  she  should  treat  me  in  this 


MISS  BEEMEN  SPEAKS.  71 

outrageous  manner,"  said  Rachel,  with  a  little  nervous 
shiver  at  the  idea  of  what  she  had  just  gone  through. 
"  I  scarcely  know  her — have  never,  in  fact,  met  her 
except  at  our  meetings. ' ' 

"  Perhaps  you  have  slighted  her  in  some  way  or  other, 
and  she  has  been  waiting  her  chance  to  he  even  with 
you.  Or  perhaps  she  is  herself  in  love  with  Mr.  Moul- 
trie." 

"  Oh,  no  ;  impossible  !"  exclaimed  Rachel.  "  He  is 
a  married  man.  She  certainly  knows  that. ' ' 

"  I  don't  think  that  would  be  an  insuperable  obstacle 
in  the  estimation  of  a  woman  as  low-minded  as  this  Billy 
Bremen.  Think  of  her  friend,  Mrs.  Cross,  who  fell  in 
love  with  her  present  husband  while  she  was  still  Mrs. 
Russel,  and  while  Mr.  Russel  was  living,  and  Mr.  Cross 
was  happy  in  the  possession  of  one  wife.  Two  divorces 
were  necessary  there,  but  they  were  procured  without 
difficulty.  Here  only  one  would  be  required.  Depend 
upon  it,  my  dear,  there  is  some  such  notion  in  the 
Bremen  girl's  mind." 

"  It  serves  one  right  for  associating  with  such  people, 
even  in  the  way  of  business  only.  Mamma  warned  me 
against  them  ;  but  I  thought  that  if  I  kept  aloof  from 
them  socially,  it  made  no  difference  whom  I  knew  in 
the  committee-rooms  or  at  the  meetings.  But  I  see  I 
was  wrong." 

"  Yes,  I  think  you  were.  That  is  one  point  in  which 
there  is  a  difference  between  the  ways  in  which  the  two 
sexes  are  able  to  manage  such  things.  Men  can  and  do 
associate  with  all  kinds  of  people  in  their  business,  with 
whom  they  never  become  intimate  in  any  other  relation, 
and  whom  they  would  never  think  of  inviting  to  their 
houses.  But  women  seem  to  be  incapable  of  any  such 


72  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

restricted  intercourse.  They  never  know  where  to  draw 
the  line." 

"  Some  of  them  do,"  said  Rachel,  with  a  faint  attempt 
at  a  smile.  "  My  mother  is  one.  She  would  buy  her 
meat  from  Miss  Billy  for  years,  and  never  recognize  her 
outside  of  her  butcher-shop." 

"  Talking  of  a  shop,"  observed  Miss  Richardson,  with 
a  little  laugh  and  an  accent  that  were  not  altogether  free 
from  a  tinge  of  vindictiveness  ;  "  I  was  in  there  the  other 
morning,  and  she  was  present,  dressed  in  a  suit  of  green 
velvet  and  wearing  solitaire  diamond  earrings  as  big  as 
filberts.  Think  of  diamonds  and  velvet  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning  !" 

"  Amelia  !"  exclaimed  Rachel,  with  sudden  energy, 
"  I  am  sick  of  the  whole  matter.  I  really  begin  to 
think  that  we  have  been  striving  to  overthrow  the  laws 
of  God.  We  are  not  the  equals  of  men,  and  we  are 
meaner  in  our  ways  of  thinking  and  acting.  No  man 
would  have  conducted  himself  as  did  that  fearful 


woman 

u 


Now,  my  dear  child,  don't,  for  Heaven's  sake,  judge 
the  whole  sex  by  that  little  ugly  beast  !  I  shall  never 
call  her  by  any  other  name  hereafter  than  the  '  Beast. ' 
Are  you  going  to  sacrifice  great  principles,  upon  which 
your  mind  has  so  long  been  fixed  approvingly,  because 
you  are  disgusted  and  outraged  at  the  horrible  conduct 
of  one  low  woman  ?  You  say  no  man  could  have  acted 
as  she  did.  My  dear,  there  are  mean  women  and  mean 
men,  and  I  have  seen  some  of  the  latter  to  whom  Miss 
Billy  would  be  a  paragon  of  decency  and  magnanimity." 

"  I  begin  to  think  that  magnanimity  is  impossible  in 
women." 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  Miss  Richardson,  reflectively  ; 


MISS  BREMEN  SPEAKS.  73 

44  perhaps  it  is  in  its  grandest  sense.  You  see,  women 
are  deficient  in  physical  force,  and  they  are  hence  obliged 
to  resort  to  more  or  less  finesse  in  order  to  accomplish 
their  ends.  1  admit  that  such  a  scene  as  the  one  we  have 
just  gone  through  would  have  been  almost  impossible 
between  men.  Before  the  '  Beast '  had  gotten  half  way 
through  with  her  vituperation  she  would,  had  she  and 
you  been  men,  have  been  flying  out  of  the  window  or 
lying  prostrate  on  the  floor  from  a  well-directed  blow  of 
your  fist.  No,  no  ;  you  must  not  give  up  the  great 
struggle  for  the  right  merely  because  there  are  some  un- 
worthy women.  I  cannot  conceive  of  anything  more 
illogical.  Even  your  mother,  prejudiced  as  she  is  against 
us,  will  tell  you  that. ' ' 

"I  suppose  you  are  right,"  said  Rachel,  wearily, 
"  but  there  are  times  when  I  feel  terribly  discouraged. 
I  see  so  many  women  with  little,  mean,  contemptible 
traits  that  I  am  often  disgusted  with  my  sex.  How  sel- 
dom is  it  that  you  find  a  woman  who  is  not  jealous,  and 
suspicious,  and  envious  of  all  other  women  who  come  in 
her  way,  and  then  how  unforgiving  to  those  of  their 
own  sex  who  have  strayed  from  the  paths  of  virtue  ! 
How  pitiless  they  can  be  at  such  times,  and  yet  how 
smiling  and  kind  to  the  very  men  who  have  led  their 
weak  sisters  astray  !" 

"  That  is  true,  and  it  is  right  that  it  should  be  so. 
Women  must  ever  be  the  guardians  of  the  purity  of 
their  own  sex,  and  must  visit  with  social  ostracism  all 
those  who  violate  the  laws  that  society  has  established. 
There  is  no  other  punishment  but  such  as  they  can  inflict, 
and  it  is  right  that  the  woman  who  falls,  though  she 
should  never,  of  course,  be  treated  unkindly,  should  be 
made  to  feel  that  she  has  done  that  which  saps  at  the 


74  A   STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

very  root  of  the  honor  of  society,  and  which,  though 
not  punishable  by  the  laws  of  the  land,  is  nevertheless 
to  be  mercilessly  condemned  by  a  still  higher  court — that 
of  her  own  sex.  I  suppose  there  is  scarcely  a  woman 
who  has,  through  her  misconduct,  lost  her  place  in  so- 
ciety who  would  not  gladly  suffer  ten  years'  imprison- 
ment in  the  penitentiary  at  hard  labor,  if  that  would  be 
accepted  as  sufficient  atonement,  and  she  be  reinstated  to 
the  position  from  which  she  has  fallen.  There  are  crimes 
that  we  women  never  pardon  ;  at  least,  never  to  the  ex- 
tent of  receiving  the  offender  back  as  the  fit  associate  of 
our  husbands  and  brothers,  our  daughters  or  sisters. 

%<  Then  you  must  remember,  my  dear,"  she  went  on, 
after  a  pause,  during  which  she  seemed  to  be  arranging 
her  thoughts  so  as  to  make  them  most  effective,  u  that 
the  worst  traits  in  women  have  been  caused  by  man's 
tyranny,  and  have  been  developed  through  his  continued 
refusal  to  give  her  an  equal  opportunity  with  him  in  the 
race  of  life.  You  are  judging  her  now  by  man's  stand- 
ard, and  not  by  her  own.  Whole  classes  of  animals 
have  cunning  implanted  in  them  from  the  necessities  of 
the  situation  in  which  they  have  been  placed.  You 
don't  condemn  a  fox  for  being  sharp-witted,  nor  the 
opossum  for  feigning  death  in  order  to  deceive  his  ene- 
mies. Probably  among  foxes  and  opossums  those  that 
are  the  greatest  adepts  at  catching  chickens  with  impu- 
nity and  fooling  their  captors  stand  highest  in  vulpine 
and  didelphic  sociology.  Doubtless  the  inherent  ten- 
dency to  fraud  existing  in  these  animals  might  be  eradi- 
cated by  careful  training  and  kindness  continued  through- 
out many  generations,  just  as  woman  will  be  improved 
in  the  years  to  come  by  like  treatment." 

"  I  never  heard  such  doetrines  as  these  in  all  my  life  !" 


MISS   BREMEN  SPEAKS.  75 

exclaimed  Rachel.  "  They  seem  to  me  to  be  horri- 
ble." 

"  They  are  based  on  natural  laws.  What  right  has  man 
to  expect  us  to  be  frank,  and  magnanimous,  and  chiv- 
alric,  when  we  are  treated  like  slaves — petted  slaves, 
perhaps,  under  the  best  circumstances,  but  none  the  less 
as  slaves  ?  Slavery  always  makes  its  victims  deceitful, 
and  incites  them  to  defend  themselves  and  to  seek  to 
accomplish  their  ends  secretively  and  without  regard  to 
magnanimity.  Chivalry  was  shown  by  the  knights  and 
feudal  lords,  not  by  the  vassals.  Well,  my  dear,  men 
are  now  the  lords,  and  we  are  the  vassals." 

Miss  Richardson  had  risen  while  making  this  little 
speech,  and  had  begun  walking  up  and  down  the  floor, 
as  though  she  were  on  the  lecture  platform,  where  she 
always  walked  from  one  end  to  the  other  while  deliver- 
ing her  lecture.  As  she  concluded  she  came  nearer  to 
Rachel,  who  had  remained  in  her  chair.  "  I  like  you," 
she  said,  "  because  you  are  refined  and  gentle,  and  be- 
cause, in  many  respects,  you  are  different  from  any  other 
woman  I  ever  saw.  Shall  I  tell  you  a  secret  ?  Yes  ? 
Well,  1  will.  As  a  rule,  I  hate  women,  although  I  am 
always  fighting  their  battles.  They  are  entitled  to  jus- 
tice, but  that  is  no  reason  why  I  should  love  them  ;  and 
I  don't.  I  have  very  few  friends  in  the  sex,  but  I 
should  like  to  count  you  as  one  of  them,  and  perhaps," 
she  added,  with  an  accent  of  timidity,  "  the  dearest  of 
them.  Don't  answer  me  now,"  she  went  on,  seeing  Ra- 
chel about  to  speak.  "  If  you  were  to  say  you  liked  me, 
I  shouldn't  believe  you,  and  if  you  were  to  repulse  me,  I 
should  not  like  it.  No  ;  wait  till  you  know  me  better." 

"  You  are  very  honest  and  very  true,"  said  Rachel, 
much  moved  by  Miss  Richardson's  frankness.  "  And — " 


76  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"No;  you  shall  not  say  a  word, "  putting  her  hand 
over  KachePs  mouth,  and  laughing  a  little  hysterically, 
or  at  least  nervously.  "  Yes,"  she  continued,  "  you 
shall.  You  shall  tell  me  why  you  did  not  reply  to  Mr. 
Moultrie  to-night.  You  should  not  really  have  allowed 
the  matter  to  go  so  completely  by  default. ' ' 

"  There  was  nothing  to  say.  He  had  entirely  demol- 
ished my  case,  and  by  a  few  words,  which,  however, 
showed  that  he  knew  what  he  was  talking  about.  1  felt 
disgusted  with  the  matter  and  with  the  ignorance  we  had 
displayed.  But  then  he  was  so  gentlemanly  and  kind  in 
his  manner,  that  I  felt  almost  compensated  for  my  de- 
feat, and  1  think  he  is  a  friend,  though  a  just  one,  and 
not  at  all  likely  to  be  led  away  by  sentiment  to  act 
against  his  convictions. ' ' 

"  Ah  !  you  are,  like  all  other  women,  willing  to  sub- 
mit to  be  scratched  by  the  lion's  claws  if  the  balm  be 
immediately  applied.  Man  may  keep  you  out  of  your 
rights  ;  but  if  he  does  so  with  a  smile,  and  a  kind  word, 
and  a  deferential  manner,  you  are  satisfied.  As  to  our 
ignorance,  that  is  nothing.  We  can't  be  expected  to 
know  much  about  statecraft  and  the  ways  of  legislative 
bodies  when  we  are  carefully  excluded  from  participation 
in  either.  Still,  I  think  with  you  that  Mr.  Moultrie  is 
better  than  the  other  candidates,  and  I  shall  use  my  in- 
fluence for  him,  although  I  said  differently  just  now. 
The  right  to  change  one's  mind  has  not  yet  been  taken 
from  us,  thank  God  !" 

"  1  am  afraid,"  said  Rachel,  "  that  you  will  have  to 
do  without  me  in  the  executive  committee  after  this.  1 
can  never  consent  to  be  so  placed  that  I  shall  be  liable  to 
meet  that  horrid  girl  again,  or  even  the  three  women 
who  have  apparently  decided  with  her.  I  shall  at  once 


MISS  BREMEN  SPEAKS.  77 

send  in  my  resignation  to  the  president,  and  I  am  more 
than  half  disposed  to  abandon  the  movement  altogether.' ' 

' '  No,  no  ;  I  will  not  hear  of  that.  There  are  so  few 
women  in  good  society  who  are  with  us  that  we  can't 
afford  to  lose  you.  We'll  put  the  '  Beast '  out.  That 
will  be  better." 

"  I  shall  resign,"  repeated  Rachel,  with  firmness. 
"  That  I  have  determined  on  fully.  As  to  woman's 
rights,  I  believe  it  is  just  as  Mr.  Moultrie  said.  We 
have  no  evidence  that  the  majority  of  them  want  any 
more  rights  than  they  have.  Look  how  many  of  our 
strongest  adherents  have  left  as  soon  as  they  were  mar- 
ried, and  how  many  women  cease  to  work  when  their 
husbands  are  competent  and  willing  to  support  them  ! 
Those  who  are  forced  to  labor  for  their  daily  bread,  and 
who  are  struggling  for  new  channels  through  which  they 
can  work,  abandon  the  contest  as  soon  as  some  strong 
man  comes  along  and  marries  them.  They  have  been 
fighting  only  for  themselves,  not  for  a  principle.  I 
would  not  trust  myself — for  I  am  a  woman — and  I  have 
felt  the  yearning  for  some  good  man's  arms  to  which  I 
could  fly  with  a  sense  of  perfect  security  and  the  con- 
sciousness that  their  owner  would  die  for  me  if  it  were 
necessary.  Yes,  it  must  be  very  pleasant." 

"  You  are  demoralized  by  that  '  Beast.'  To-morrow 
you  will  feel  differently." 

"  No,  I  think  not.  1  have  been  gradually  reaching 
my  present  convictions.  We  all  act  in  that  way.  Look 
at  Mrs.  Moultrie  !  Before  her  marriage  she  was  devoted 
to  science,  and  had  studied  and  practised  medicine  ;  she 
had  dissected  human  bodies  ;  she  had  a  physiological 
laboratory,  and  performed  experiments  ;  she  lectured  to 
mixed  audiences.  That  was  all  before  she  had  met  a 


78  A  STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

man  whom  she  could  love.  At  last  he  came,  and  the 
science,  and  the  dissections,  and  the  lectures  vanished. 
I  had  occasion  to  write  to  her  this  afternoon,  but  I  know 
what  her  answer  will  be." 

"  But  you  might  have  married  had  you  so  chosen  ?" 
said  Miss  Hichardson,  inquiringly. 

"  Yes,  but  not  to  a  man  I  loved.  That  man  I  have  not 
yet  seen,  so  far  as  I  know  ;  but  I  am  waiting  for  him, 
and  when  he  comes  and  asks  me,  1  shall  marry  him." 

"  An  honest  confession  is  good  for  the  soul,"  ex- 
claimed Miss  Richardson,  laughing  heartily.  "  I  sup- 
pose there  are  some  women  who  are  incapable  of  experi- 
encing the  emotion  of  love,  and  I  think  1  am  one  of 
them.  Certainly  I  have  never  yet  seen  the  man  to 
whom  I  would  be  willing  to  be  tied  for  all  my  life,  and 
to  look  up  to  as  my  guide  and  protector.  Bah  !  it 
makes  me  sick  to  think  of  it.  Thank  Heaven,  I  can 
guide  and  protect  myself  !  1  want  no  man  about  me  to 
growl  when  his  coffee  is  too  weak  or  too  strong  to  suit 
his  lordship's  taste,  and  to  tell  me  what  I  shall  do  or  not 
do  ;  whom  I  shall  know  or  not  know." 

"  You  are  as  bad  as  Miss  Bremen,"  said  Rachel, 
laughing  in  turn. 

"  Billy  Bremen  ;  that  little  '  Beast '  !  Oh,  she's  only 
a  fraud  !  She'd  marry  the  man  who  knocks  her  oxen  on 
the  head  or  cuts  her  hogs'  throats,  if  he  asked  her,  and 
she  couldn't  do  any  better.  Besides,  I  told  you  she  is 
in  love  with  Mr.  Moultrie.  I  saw  it  in  her  face — so  far 
as  her  puttyish  features  can  show  anything.  1  am  not 
joking,  and  I  think  she  means  something  by  her  threat 
of  having  him  under  her  thumb." 

"  But  what  could  she  mean  ?" 

"  I  have  not  the  slightest  idea  ;  but  that  she  thinks  she 


MISS   BKEMETS"   SPEAKS.  79 

can  injure  him,  1  am  quite  sure.  Of  course  she  may  be 
mistaken — 1  hope  she  is — but  she  was  too  self -satisfied  to 
be  lying.  There  was  too  much  confidence  in  her  own 
malice  for  that.  However,  1  can't  bear  to  talk  about 
her,  and  I  must  go  now.  Don't  mind  her,  and  don't  do 
anything  rash  in  the  way  of  dissolving  your  connection 
with  the  (  United  Women  of  America.'  : 

"  I  shall  certainly  resign  from  the  executive  committee 
this  very  night,"  said  Rachel,  with  emphasis.  "  Well, 
good-night,"  she  continued,  "if  you  will  go,  though  I 
wish  you  would  stay  till  mother  comes  home.  She  is 
dining  to-night  with  the  Hendersons,  old  friends  of  hers 
who  have  just  returned  from  Europe.  You  must  really 
go  ?  Good -night  !"  kissing  her  friend  as  she  spoke. 

"  Don't  mind  that  little  '  Beast,'  "  said  Miss  Richard- 
son, in  a  whisper,  as  she  stepped  into  the  elevator  just 
outside  of  Rachel's  apartment.  "  Keep  your  eye  on 
her,  but  don't  worry  about  her  threats.  She  can't  hurt 
you,  at  any  rate." 


CHAPTER  Y. 


THE  election  was  to  take  place  in  two  days.  Each  of 
the  three  contending  parties  was  ready,  so  far  as  active 
work  was  concerned,  and  there  was  not  much  doubt  in 
the  minds  of  the  wise  men  that  Moultrie  would  be 
elected  by  at  least  a  thousand  plurality.  There  was  some 
little  talk  of  the  withdrawal  of  one  of  the  other  candi- 
dates, and  negotiations  had  been  initiated  looking  to  that 
end  ;  but  no  agreement  could  be  arrived  at  that  was  sat- 
isfactory to  the  rank  and  file,  and  neither  of  the  rivals, 
when  it  came  to  the  point,  was  willing  to  retire  in  favor 
of  the  other.  It  was  quite  certain,  therefore,  that  there 
would  be  a  triangular  contest,  and  that  the  vote  in  oppo- 
sition to  Moultrie  would  be  about  equally  divided. 

Great  interest  had  been  taken  by  Theodora  and  Lalage 
in  the  meetings,  addresses,  and  letters  incident  to  a  can- 
vass of  the  kind  in  question.  Every  morning  the  news- 
papers were  eagerly  scanned  for  information  of  what  had 
taken  place  the  day  before,  and  the  discussions  that  oc- 
curred at  the  breakfast-table  between  Moultrie  and  his 
wife  and  daughter  relative  to  past  events  and  future 
movements  were  always  incidents  of  great  satisfaction 
to  all  concerned. 

On  the  present  occasion  they  were  at  breakfast  in  the 
pleasant  little  room  devoted  to  the  first  meal  of  the  day. 
Theodora  was  glancing  over  the  Morning  Sentinel,  oc- 


MISS  BILLY'S  BOMBSHELL.  81 

casionally  stopping  to  take  a  sip  of  coffee  or  to  cut  a  little 
segment  from  the  lamb -chop  on  her  plate.  It  was  the 
morning  after  the  meeting  at  which  the  lion.  Tom  Bur- 
ton had  spoken,  and  at  which  Moultrie  had  so  effectually 
demolished  the  committee  of  the  "  United  Women  of 
America. ' '  He  had  related  the  particulars  to  Theodora 
on  his  return  home,  but  she  saw  them  stated  here 
from  a  somewhat  different,  though  not  unfriendly, 
standpoint,  together  with  editorial  comments  of  a  char- 
acter so  flattering  to  her  husband  that  her  cheeks 
glowed  with  pride  and  pleasure.  She  looked  smilingly 
at  him  as  she  handed  the  paper  to  Lalage  to  pass  on 
to  him. 

.  "  There  !"  she  exclaimed  ;  "  I  suppose  you  are  used 
to  haviug  pleasant  things  said  of  you  nowadays  ;  but  read 
that.  It  is  calculated  to  make  your  £  breast  swell  with 
patriotic  pride,'  as  the  reporter  says  his  does  at  the  asser- 
tion that  you  are  going  to  serve  your  country  in  the 
'  Halls  of  Congress.'  " 

Moultrie  laughed  as  he  took  the  paper  from  his  daugh- 
ter's hands.  "It  is  only  fair,"  he  said,  "  that  you 
should  see  what  the  other  people  say.  Here  is  the 
Daily  Controller,  which  is  Mr.  Jackson's  organ,  and 
here  the  Avenger,  which  occupies  the  like  position  with 
Mr.  O'Leary.  Head  the  first  paragraph,  Lai,  of  each  of 
the  leading  editorials  of  those  shining  lights  of  journal- 
ism, and  you  will  see  what  a  wretched  man  you  have  for 
a  husband  and  father.  Read  them  aloud  for  your 
mamma's  benefit.  She  is  one-sided  in  her  views  now, 
and  these  may  tend  to  straighten  her." 

Lai  took  the  Controller,  and  read  as  follows  : 
"  '  A  more  pitiable  spectacle  than  that  exhibited  last 
night  at   the   meeting   held  by  the  supporters  of  Mr. 


82  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Moultrie  was  never,  we  venture  to  say,  seen  by  the  peo- 
ple of  this  city.  A  committee  of  ladies  representing 
that  influential  organization  the  "  United  Women  of 
America"  submitted  two  very  simple  questions  to  the 
candidate  through  Miss  Rachel  Meadows,  whose  elo- 
quence has  so  frequently  thrilled  our  readers.  Instead 
of  answering  them  in  a  manly,  straightforward  way, 
Mr.  Moultrie  hesitated  and  stammered,  and  finally  ended 
his  non- committal  remarks  by  intimating  that  both  ques- 
tions were  unnecessary,  and  that  the  ladies  did  not  know 
what  they  wanted.  Of  course  Mr.  Moultrie  has  a  right 
to  his  own  opinions,  or  even  to  no  opinions  ;  but  that  he 
should  have  gone  out  of  his  way  to  insult  such  eminently 
respectable  ladies  as  those  who  favored  him  with  their 
presence  last  evening  was,  we  think,  quite  unpardon- 
able, and  will  doubtless  be  resented  by  the  husbands, 
fathers,  brothers,  and  sons  who  will  attend  the  polls  on 
"Wednesday  next.'  ' 

Theodora  laughed  a  little  constrainedly,  and  it  was 
evident  she  was  annoyed. 

Lai's  face  flushed  with  anger.  "  The  wretch  !"  she 
exclaimed.  "  I  wonder  how  he  dared  to  write  such  lies  ! 
If  I  were  a  man  I  would  go  to  him  with  a  whip,  and  I 
would  beat  him  well." 

Moultrie  smiled  at  the  effect  upon  the  two  women. 
"  In  Colorado,"  he  said,  "such,  language  would  be 
ample  ground  for  shooting  the  editor  on  sight.  Here, 
however,  we  find  it  better  not  to  notice  him.  Now,  my 
dear,  let  your  mamma  know  what  the  Avenger  thinks  of 
me.  I  expect  to  see  your  blood  fairly  boil,  and  each  in- 
dividual hair  of  your  heads  stand  on  end,  when  you  read 
the  comments  of  the  gentleman  who  conducts  Mr. 
O'Leary's  organ.  This,"  putting  his  finger  on  a  certain 


83 

paragraph,  "  seems  to  embody  a  little  more  venom  than 
any  other  passage.  Read  it,  Lai." 

"  '  There  have  been  quibblers  and  equivocators,  not 
to  use  stronger  expressions,  before  Mr.  Geoffrey  Moultrie 
appeared  upon  this  sublunary  sphere  ;  but  probably  the 
Goddess  of  Truth  never  blushed  more  deeply  for  a 
human  being  trying  to  wriggle  himself  out  of  a  false 
position  than  she  did  for  that  individual  last  night.  It 
was  a  humiliating  scene  for  that  sex  that  arrogates  to 
itself  all  the  honor  and  all  the  intelligence,  to  see  the 
free-trade  candidate  squirm  under  the  pitiless  logic  of 
Miss  Rachel  Meadows.  The  lady  was  calm,  but  im- 
placable, and  her  questions  went  right  to  the  point  with 
a  directness  that  left  nothing  to  be  desired — by  every  one, 
that  is,  but  Mr.  Geoffrey  Moultrie.  He  looked  as  if 
he  wished  the  ground  would  open  at  his  feet  and  engulf 
him  forever  from  the  scornful  looks  that  the  indignant 
lady  gave  him.  We  need  not  remind  our  readers  how 
different  would  have  been  the  conduct  of  Titus  Androni- 
cus  O'Leary  under  like  circumstances.'  : 

"It  is  a  shame,"  said  Lai,  the  tears  starting  to  her 
eyes,  "  that  a  gentleman  should  be  attacked  in  that  out- 
rageous way.  You  do  not  mind  it,  father,  do  you  ?" 
she  continued,  putting  her  arms  around  his  neck  and 
laying  her  face  against  his. 

' i  My  dear,  I  mind  it  no  more  than  1  would  a  few 
flakes  of  snow  falling  on  my  seal-skin  coat. ' ' 

"  But  I  really  think,  Geoffrey,"  said  Theodora,  "  that 
this  person  goes  too  far.  Something  ought  to  be  done 
to  restrain  such  unbridled  vituperation. ' ' 

"  But  what  can  be  done  ?  Of  course  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  quarrel  with  such  people.  And  then  you  must 
remember  that  these  papeft  are  very  low  specimens  of 


84  A    STRONG -MIND ED   WOMAN. 

the  press  of  New  York.  You  would  not  find  such  jour- 
nals as  the  Oracle,  the  Citizen,  the  Annunciator,  and 
half  a  dozen  others  1  could  name  indulging  in  drivel 
like  that.  The  only  thing  to  do  is  to  laugh  at  them  if 
you  can,  and  to  bear  in  mind  that  every  American  who 
'  runs '  for  an  office  takes  his  reputation  in  his  hand." 

"  I  hope  mother  will  not  see  these  papers,"  said 
Theodora,  trying  to  raise  a  smile.  "  She  would  be  sure 
to  tell  you  that  it  was  just  what  you  had  every  reason  to 
expect,  and  just  what  she  told  you  ;  but  she  would,  at 
the  same  time,  be  greatly  grieved  to  know  that  her  son 
was  spoken  of  so  scandalously." 

"  Yes,"  laughed  Moultrie,  "  she  would  be  very  indig- 
nant and  very  self-satisfied  ;  but  the  indignation  would 
predominate  and  continue,  while  the  self-satisfaction 
would  die  out  as  soon  as  she  had  uttered  '  I  told  you  so. ' 
But,  my  dear,  get  the  Controller  and  the  Avenger  out  of 
your  mind,  for  really  what  they  say  is  of  no  conse- 
quence in  my  estimation.  Shall  I  have  you  with  me  this 
afternoon  in  the  Park  ?  "What  do  you  say,  you  and  Lai, 
to  going  out  to  Jerome  Park  to  dinner  ?  There  are  no 
races  to-day,  but  the  cuisine  is  quite  good  now,  Burton 
tells  me." 

"  I  should   like  it  very  much,"  answered  Theodora. 

' '  And  you,  Lai  ?  Can  you  get  off  from  your  studies 
in  time  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  I  shall  be  through  by  five  o'clock  ;  I  have 
no  music  lesson  to-day,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  go." 

4  Then  good-by,"  continued  Moultrie,  kissing  them 
both.  "  Don't  worry  over  the  Controller  and  the  Aven- 
ger. You'd  make  short  work  of  these  editors,  Lai,"  he 
went  on,  stroking  her  hair  and  smiling  lovingly  as  he 
looked  at  her.  "  You'd  be  more  than  a  match  for 


MISS  BILLY'S  BOMBSHELL. 

either  of  them,  for  they  are  both  puny  little  fel- 
lows. " 

"  I  think  I  would  like  to  kill  them  both,"  said  Lai, 
indignantly. 

"  Yes,"  he  answered,  "  you  look  as  though  you  were 
quite  capable  of  doing  it,  too." 

"  I  have  not  felt  so  angry  since  I  came  East.  I  often 
used  to  talk  of  killing  people  when  I  lived  in  Colorado, 
before — before  you  came,"  she  went  on,  throwing  her 
arms  around  his  neck  as  she  spoke.  "It is  wrong,  I 
know,  to  say  such  things,  and  you  will  forgive  me,  will 
you  not,  dear  father  ?" 

"I  don't  think  that  will  be  very  difficult,"  he  an- 
swered, kissing  her  forehead.  "  By  the  by,  Theodora,"  he 
continued,  turning  to  his  wife,  who  stood  by  his  side,  "  we 
must  try  and  get  Lai  into  a  more  colloquial  way  of  talk- 
ing, though  I  must  confess  I  like  her  formal  manner  of 
expressing  herself.  It  seems  to  me  very  pretty  and 
very  quaint." 

"  Then  if  you  like  it  I  will  never  change  !"  exclaimed 
Lai. 

"  But  it  sounds  so  foreign,  my  dear,"  said  Theodora. 
"  No  one  says  '  I  do  not,'  '  I  will  not,'  '  1  cannot,'  and  so 
on  in  ordinary  conversation  ;  but  they  say  ( I  don't, '  1 1 
won't,'  £  I  can't,'  and  use  other  contracted  forms.  Still, 
I  think  with  your  father  that  it  is  rather  pretty,  and  cer- 
tainly no  one  can  find  fault  with  it  on  the  score  of  incor- 
rectness. You  have  done  so  much,  dear,  in  the  time 
you  have  been  with  us,  that  I  think  we  ought  to  let  you 
alone  with  your  speech." 

"  You  shall  talk  just  as  you  please,"  said Moultrie,  as 
he  left  the  room.  "  She  has  done  wonders,"  he  thought 
to  himself,  as  he  put  on  his  overcoat.  u  No  one  but  an 


86  A    STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

American  could  have  gotten  rid  of  a  dialect  in  so  short  a 
time,  and  some  people — the  Scotch  and  English,  for  ex- 
ample— never  part  with  their  peculiarities  of  early  speech, 
though  they  try  ever  so  hard.  I  have  heard  lord- 
mayors  and  baronets — yes,  even  peers — who  dropped  their 
hs  after  fifty  years'  intercourse  with  genteel  society  ;  and 
where  is  the  provincial  Englishman  or  Scotchman  who 
ever  gives  up  the  accent  or  pronunciation  of  his  youth  ? 
An  American,  however,  loses  all  his  local  peculiarities 
whenever  he  sets  to  work  deliberately  to  do  so,  and  Lai 
has  scarcely  one  left,  after  only  two  years'  efforts.  She 
has  worked  faithfully  and  intelligently,  and  when  Tys- 
covus  comes  for  her  she  will  be  a  wife  of  whom  he  will 
never  have  cause  to  be  ashamed.  But  how  can  1  ever 
let  her  go?" 

He  had  asked  himself  this  question  at  least  a  hun- 
dred times  during  the  last  year,  and  had  never  given 
it  a  satisfactory  answer.  He  could  not  bear  to  con- 
template the  inevitable  day  which,  little  by  little,  came 
nearer — that  day  on  which  his  friend  would  appear  to 
take  her  away  from  him  forever,  and  on  which  she  would 
go  with  one  she  loved  better  than  she  loved  him.  There 
was  a  pang  at  the  thought  that  cut  him  to  the  very  heart. 
He  sighed  deeply  as  he  left  the  house  on  his  walk  down- 
town to  his  office.  It  was  his  way  of  taking  active  ex- 
ercise, and  he  never  neglected  this  walk,  no  matter  what 
kind  of  weather  he  had  to  contend  with.  To-day  he 
assumed  a  quick  pace,  for  he  had  work  to  do,  and  he 
was  a  little  behind  his  usual  time. 

Meanwhile  Theodora  and  Lalage  went  about  their 
usual  morning's  work. 

The  course  of  instruction  that  Moultrie  and  Theodora 
had  laid  out  for  Lalage  was  based  upon  as  much  good 


MISS  BILLY'S  BOMBSHELL.  87 

common-sense  as  is  usually  possessed  by  men  and  women. 
They  recognized  the  fact  that  when  she  came  under 
their  charge  she  was  almost  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
very  rudiments  of  learning.  She  could  read  imperfectly, 
could  write  a  little,  and  knew  something  of  the  elemen- 
tary rules  of  arithmetic,  and  this  was  all.  She  had  never 
received  any  instruction,  but  had  taught  herself  the  little 
she  knew.  But  they  saw  that  she  was  remarkably  quick 
of  apprehension,  and  that  her  brain  worked  easily  and 
smoothly.  They  perceived  that  her  mind  was  a  remark- 
ably well-balanced  one,  and  that  she  was  not  a  girl  to  take 
eccentric  notions,  and  to  form  an  overwhelming  idea  of 
her  own  competence  to  direct  herself  in  the  roads  to  the 
acquisition  of  learning.  She  had,  in  fact,  that  best  of 
all  ground- work  upon  which  education  can  be  built — a 
knowledge  of  her  own  ignorance,  and  a  willingness  to 
be  guided  by  others.  There  were  but  two  years  more 
that  she  would  be  under  their  care,  and  then  she  would 
go  to  Tyscovus  as  his  wife.  What  was  to  be  done,  there- 
fore, must  be  done  quickly,  and  every  circumstance  capa- 
ble of  influencing  the  result  must  be  brought  into  action. 
There  was  no  faltering  on  her  part.  Her  whole  soul 
was  wrapped  up  in  her  work.  The  pleasures  of  society 
were  eschewed.  She  went  to  no  theatres  or  other  places 
of  amusement,  beyond  an  occasional  concert  ;  not  be- 
cause of  the  time  they  occupied,  but  because  they  di- 
verted her  mind  from  pursuits  that  would  in  the  end  be 
of  more  advantage  to  her.  In  this,  perhaps,  she  was  not 
altogether  wise  ;  but  as  she  then  felt,  amusements  of  the 
kind  in  question  would  really  have  been  no  amusement 
to  her.  She  would  have  been  reproaching  herself  con- 
tinually with  the  idea  that  every  moment  spent  in  them 
was  lost  time. 


A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

But  she  did  not  neglect  the  needs  of  her  body  while 
laboring  so  diligently  to  improve  her  mind.  She  walked 
or  rode  horseback  for  an  hour  every  morning  before 
taking  any  other  breakfast  than  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a 
piece  of  dry  toast,  and  usually  drove  in  the  Park  with 
her  father  and  mother  for  a  little  period  every  after- 
noon. She  thus  not  only  strengthened  her  physical 
system,  but  incidentally  provided  for  mental  diversion. 
Of  a  mild  kind,  it  is  true,  yet  powerful  enough  to  allow 
her  brain  to  recuperate  and  start  off  with  more  than  its 
usual  vigor  when  she  again  set  it  to  doing  the  special 
work  laid  out  for  it. 

There  were  no  chemistry,  philosophy,  physiology, 
French,  German,  or  other  higher  branch  of  knowledge,  so 
much  affected  by  young  women  of  the  present  day,  who 
cannot  write  ten  lines  correctly,  and  who  are  hopelessly 
ignorant  of  the  history  and  geography  of  their  own  coun- 
try. Her  education  was  conducted  on  an  entirely  differ- 
ent basis  from  that  of  Florence  Sincote,  and  her  teacher 
was  not  a  man,  but  a  woman  who  had  been  brought  up 
amid  refined  surroundings,  and  who  had  no  high-flown 
notions  about  the  identity  of  the  sexes  and  the  conse- 
quent necessity  of  forcing  a  young  woman's  mind  to 
take  the  same  course  a's  that  of  a  boy  destined  to  be  a 
civil  or  mechanical  engineer.  She  was  taught  to  spell 
and  to  read  correctly.  Grammar  was  given  her  by  prac- 
tical examples,  not  by  books.  No  one,  her  father  and 
mother  knew,  ever  yet  learned  to  speak  good  English 
from  studying  books  on  grammar.  When  she  spoke,  if 
she  spoke  incorrectly  she  was  at  once  set  right,  but 
never  unless  she  was  at  the  time  receiving  instruction. 
Upon  this  point  Moultrie  was  very  decided.  "If  we 
correct  her,"  he  had  said,  "  every  time  she  opens  her 


MISS  BILLY'S  BOMBSHELL.  89 

mouth  to  speak  and  makes  a  mistake,  her  life  will  be  a 
burden  to  her,  and  ours  to  us."  Of  ten  he  and  Theodora 
conversed  with  her  relative  to  her  work  of  the  day,  and 
after  dinner  he  always  gave  her  a  ' ( talk,  "as  he  called 
it,  on  American  history,  or  described  the  various  cities 
and  countries  he  had  visited,  or  related  the  adventures 
he  had  had.  She  was  encouraged  to  ask  questions  and 
to  express  her  opinions  upon  all  subjects  that  were  dis- 
cussed in  her  presence. 

Geography  and  the  physics  of  the  universe,  so  far  as 
they  could  be  taught  without  infringing  on  the  domain 
of  the  higher  mathematics,  were  among  the  most  thor- 
oughly considered  of  all  her  studies.  Books  of  travel 
contributed  to  her  assistance,  and  the  reading  of  them 
gave  her  the  familiarity  with  the  English  language  in 
its  best  forms,  which  it  was  desirable  she  should  possess. 
Then  the  indoctrination  of  the  first  principles  of  num- 
bers almost  completed  the  work  that  her  own  teacher, 
Mrs.  Bowdoin,  a  widow,  had  to  do.  It  was  not  much  all 
told,  but  what  there  was  of  it  was  well  and  thoroughly 
done.  And  there  was  one  thing  more — music — and  to 
that  an  hour  in  the  morning  was  given.  She  had  a  full, 
rich  and  sympathetic  contralto  voice  and  a  correct  ear. 
Her  progress  in  this  direction  had  been  marvellous,  so 
much  so  that  Mr.  Ricci,  her  teacher,  declared  that  she 
was  almost,  if  not  altogether,  a  musical  genius. 

This  morning  she  went  into  a  little  apartment  adjoin- 
ing her  bedroom,  that  had  been  specially  fitted  up  as  a 
sitting-room  for  her,  and  in  which  she  received  her 
teacher.  It  was  not  large,  but  it  was  the  embodiment 
of  everything  that  could  contribute  to  her  convenience 
and  comfort.  In  a  few  minutes  Mrs.  Bowdoin  arrived, 
and  then,  with  an  intermission  of  half  an  hour,  at  one 


90  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

o'clock,  for  luncheon  they  would  be  hard  at  work  together 
till  three.  After  that  there  was  no  more  teaching  of 
that  kind  for  the  day.  Theodora  had  gone  about  her 
household  duties,  which  always  took  an  hour  every  morn- 
ing, and  was  engaged  with  the  housekeeper  when  a  ser- 
vant announced  that  a  lady  was  waiting  in  the  reception- 
room. 

"  Is  she  a  visitor  ?"  inquired  Theodora,  quite  satisfied 
that  it  was  too  early  in  the  morning  for  any  but  a  busi- 
ness visit,  unless  from  one  of  her  intimate  friends,  who 
might  call  unceremoniously. 

"  No,  madame,"  said  Frangois,  who  was  acquainted 
with  Theodora's  visiting-list  almost  as  well  as  she  was 
herself  ;  "  I  zink  see  came  on  beesness." 

' '  Then  ask  her  to  please  send  me  her  name,  and  to  let 
me  know  what  she  wishes." 

"  Yes,  madame." 

In  a  few  moments  Frangois  was  back. 

"  See  zay,  madame,  zat  madame  would  not  know  ze 
name,  and  zat  her  beesness  is  wit  madame  seule  onlee  ; 
very  important. ' ' 

"  Does  she  look  like  a  lady  ?" 

Frangois  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  See  come  in  a 
carriage,  see  vear  ze  fine  clothes  ;  mais,  but  lady  !  Ah 
madame  !  madame  vill  know." 

"  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  leave  you  for  a  few  min- 
utes," said  Theodora  to  the  housekeeper.  "  None  of  us 
will  be  home  to  dinner  to-day,  but  Miss  Lalage  and  1 
will  take  a  cup  of  tea  at  four  o'clock.  Show  her  into 
the  library,  Frangois,"  she  continued  ;  "  I  will  see  her 
in  a  moment." 

She  followed  the  man  so  speedily  that  the  visitor  had 
scarcely  time  to  be  seated  before  Theodora  was  in  the 


91 

room.  "  You  wish  to  see  me  on  business?"  she  in- 
quired, with  just  that  amount  of  hauteur  that  would 
have  been  sufficient  to  keep  a  well-bred  woman  at  a 
proper  distance,  and  without  again  asking  the  name  of 
her  visitor. 

u  I  do,"  with  atone  of  mingled  superiority  and  indig- 
nation, that  showed  that  whatever  her  business  was,  it 
was  of  such  a  character  as  to  cause  her  to  feel  her  power, 
and  at  the  same  time  excite  a  corresponding  amount  of 
anger  in  her  breast. 

Then  Theodora  looked  at  her,  an  act  which  she  had  as 
yet  scarcely  done,  except  in  a  very  general  and  superficial 
way.  She  saw  before  her  a  low,  broad  young  woman, 
who  looked,  owing  to  the  shortness  of  her  legs,  as  though 
she  might  be  taller  as  she  sat  down  than  when  she  stood 
up.  She  had  a  flat,  wide  face,  somewhat  Eskimoish  in 
shape,  and  little  washed-out  blue  eyes,  that  looked  as 
expressionless — although  she  was  inwardly  torn  with 
contending  emotions — as  though  they  were  two  leaden 
bullets.  She  was  very  much  overdressed  in  light  blue 
plush,  and  had  large  diamond  earrings  in  her  floppy 
ears,  which  appendages  stood  out  like  two  big  wings 
from  the  side  of  her  head.  Need  it  be  said  that  she 
was  our  acquaintance  of  the  night  before,  Miss  Billy 
Bremen  ? 

Theodora's  first  idea  was  that  her  visitor  was  some  one 
desiring  a  subscription  to  a  charitable  object,  or  perhaps 
a  book-agent.  But  one  comprehensive  glance,  such  as 
she  knew  as  well  how  to  give  as  any  woman  in  the  world, 
was  sufficient  to  dispel  this  idea.  She  had  never  yet 
seen  a  book-agent  with  diamond  earrings  worth  three 
or  four  thousand  dollars,  and  her  manner  was  altogether 
too  self-assertive  to  be  that  of  any  one  wanting  a  favor. 


92  A   STRONG- MIKDED   WOMAN. 

She  felt  a  little  amused  at  the  woman's  bearing,  but  she 
nevertheless  had  no  time  to  waste  upon  her,  and  so  de- 
termined to  get  rid  of  her  as  soon  as  possible. 

"  Perhaps  you  will  be  good  enough  to  tell  me  what 
it  is." 

"  Don't  you  want  to  know  my  name  first,  Mrs.  Moul- 
trie?" 

"  It  is  scarcely  necessary,  I  think.  I  would  rather,  if 
you  please,  know  your  business." 

"  Yery  well  !  You'll  know  it  soon  enough,  I  guess. 
But  I'll  tell  you  my  name,  whether  you  want  to  hear  it 
or  not.  I'm  Miss  Billy  Bremen,  the  daughter  of  the 
late  Johann  Bremen,  Esq. ,  and  I  own  the  large  abattoir 
at  Locust  Point." 

Notwithstanding  this  insolent  speech,  delivered  in  Miss 
Billy's  most  majestic  manner,  with  the  usual  accompani- 
ment of  a  livid  face,  Theodora  maintained  her  compo- 
sure, and  her  visitor  continued  : 

"  You  lived  in  Colorado  once,  1  believe  ?" 

"Yes." 

"  At  a  place  called  Hellbender  ?" 

Theodora  nodded. 

"  And  not  far  from  another  place  called  The  Canon  ?" 

Another  nod. 

"  There  were  two  gentlemen  living  there  or  near  there 
named  James  Bosler  and  Luke  Kittle  ?' ' 

Theodora  could  not  allow  this  form  of  the  question  to 
go  unnoticed.  "  There  were  two  persons  there — highly 
disreputable  characters — of  those  names,"  she  answered. 

"  My  information  in  regard  to  them,"  said  Miss  Billy, 
bridling  up  and  becoming  still  more  purplish  in  her  com- 
plexion, "is  very  different — quite  the  reverse,  I  assure 
you — and  I'm  not  in  the  habit  of  lying.  I  happen  to 


MISS  BILLY'S  BOMBSHELL.  93 

have  a  friend  living  at  The  Canon,  and  I  am  told  by 
him  in  a  letter,  which  I  got  yesterday  morning,  that  Mr. 
Bosler  was  a  man  of  family,  a  dealer  in  horses,  with  a 
wife,  a  highly  educated  lady,  and  a  daughter.  The 
wife  is  dead,  but  the  daughter  is,  I  understand,  still  liv- 
ing." As  she  uttered  these  last  words  Miss  Billy  fixed 
her  gaze  on  Theodora,  as  though  she  would  pierce  her 
through  with  her  glittering  eye  ;  but  the  eye,  or  the  pair 
of  them,  refused  to  glitter,  and  only  a  dull  glare  was  the 
result. 

"It  is  scarcely  worth  while,  I  think,  to  discuss  the 
character  of  these  men.  They  are  nothing  to  me." 

"  Oh,  you  think  so,  do  you  ?  Well,  we'll  see  about 
that  further  on.  Do  you  know  what  became  of 
them?" 

"  They  wrere  hanged  for  murder." 

"  According  to  law,  I  suppose,  after  due  trial  and 
conviction  in  a  court  of  justice  ?" 

Theodora  could  not  help  smiling  at  the  turn  the  con- 
versation was  taking.  Then  suddenly  the  idea  struck 
her  that  this  woman  might  be  a  relative  of  one  or  both 
of  the  men  whose  names  had  thus  been  brought  to  her 
mind  long  after  she  had,  as  she  thought,  dismissed  them 
from  her  memory,  and  a  feeling  of  delicacy  caused  her 
to  give  a  different  answer  from  the  one  Miss  Billy  would 
otherwise  have  received.  So  she  observed  : 

"  There  was  not  much  law  in  the  Territory  at  that 
time.  They  were  hanged  by  the  Vigilance  Committee, 
after  due  inquiry  into  all  the  circumstances  of  the  various 
charges  against  them.  Of  course  it  was  not  right,  but 
the  act  was,  I  believe,  approved  by  the  people." 

"  Oh,  you  admit,  then,  that  it  was  wrong  !  Well, 
Mrs.  Moultrie,  do  you  happen  to  know  who  were  the 


94  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

men  on  the  Vigilance  Committee  that  perpetrated  those 
two  murders  ?" 

u  I  have  not  the  slightest  idea." 

"  You  don't  know,  then,  who  the  leader  was  ?" 

"No." 

"  The  man  who  commanded  the  party  and  who  acted 
as  judge  condemning  them  to  death  ?" 

"  I  have  not  the  slightest  knowledge  on  the  subject." 

"  I  will  tell  you,  then.  But,  first  of  all,  I  wish  to 
say  that  I  am  a  member  of  the  committee  of  the  <  United 
Women  of  America  '  so  grossly  insulted  by  your  husband 
last  night." 

"  My  husband  does  not  insult  women,  no  matter  who 
or  what  they  may  be." 

"  You  used  to  be  interested  in  the  woman  question, 
but  you  don't  seem  to  care  for  it  now,"  said  Miss  Billy, 
not  noticing  the  denial. 

"  We  are  not  talking  of  my  views.  You  accused  my 
husband  of  insulting  women,  and  I  told  you  it  was  not 
true.  I  think  this  interview  has  gone  quite  far  enough." 

"  There  I  beg  leave  to  differ  from  you,"  resumed 
Miss  Billy,  rising  from  the  chair  and  approaching  Theo- 
dora. "  You  said  just  now  that  you  did  not  know  who 
was  the  leader  that  murdered  those  two  poor  gentlemen 
in  cold  blood.  If  you  were  telling  me  the  truth  you'll 
be  considerably  astonished,  I  guess.  It  was  your  hus- 
band !  He  hanged  the  one  because  he  wanted  the  poor 
gentleman's  only  daughter  ;  and  he  hanged  the  other, 
who  was  a  prominent  man  and  a  candidate  for  the  Leg- 
islature, because  he  had  a  friend  he  wanted  elected,  and 
he  thought  that  would  be  a  good  way  to  make  room  for 
him.  Now,  Mrs.  Moultrie,  what  do  you  think  of  that  ?" 

Before  she  had  finished  this  speech  Theodora  had  risen 


MISS  BILLY'S  BOMBSHELL.  95 

to  her  feet  and  had  rung  the  bell.  But  ere  it  could  be 
answered  Miss  Billy  had  time  to  say  a  few  additional 
words. 

"  Yes,  it's  true,  every  word  of  it,  and  I've  had  it 
type- written — the  whole  story — twelve  copies,  and  to- 
morrow it  will  be  published  in  every  newspaper  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and — " 

"  Show  that  woman  to  the  door,"  interrupted  Theo- 
dora, as  Francois  made  his  appearance  ;  "  and  if  she  re- 
fuses to  go,  or  attempts  to  enter  the  house  again,  summon 
a  policeman."  Then,  without  looking  at  Miss  Billy, 
who  continued  to  talk  in  such  an  excited  manner  that 
she  was  incoherent,  she  left  the  room,  leaving  her  visitor 
,the  empty  advantage  of  being  mistress  of  the  field. 

For  a  moment  Miss  Billy  was  at  a  loss  to  determine 
whether  she  had  or  had  not  gained  a  victory.  Francois 
stood  in  the  doorway,  waiting,  with  a  marvellous  degree 
of  patience,  to  obey  his  orders,  and  she  had  very  little 
time  then  for  deliberation,  even  had  she  been  in  a  frame 
of  mind  suitable  for  the  operation  of  mental  concentration 
and  judgment.  That  her  blow  had  produced  some  effect 
she  could  not  fail  to  perceive,  but  that  it  was  of  the 
character  she  had  expected  was  more  doubtful.  That, 
however,  was  a  matter  which  time  alone  could  fully 
determine.  That  she  had  Moultrie  in  her  power  she 
fully  believed,  and  that  she  could  defeat  his  election  she 
felt  quite  sure.  She  began,  however,  to  have  a  vague 
idea  that  it  would  have  been  better  had  she  conducted 
herself  with  more  decorum,  and  have  communicated  her 
information  with  an  air  that  had  more  of  sorrow  than  of 
anger.  Perhaps,  too,  it  might  have  served  her  purpose 
to  more  advantage  had  she  revealed  her  knowledge  to 
Moultrie  direct,  and  tried  to  make  terms  with  him.  It 


96  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

was  too  late  now,  however,  to  undo  what  had  been  done. 
She  looked  up.  Francois  was  still  standing  in  the  door- 
way. He  was  actually  beckoning  to  her.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  follow  him  to  the  front  door,  with 
the  consciousness  that  she  had  been  actually  turned  out 
of  the  house,  and  threatened  with  a  policeman,  and  the 
second  time  in  twenty-four  hours  ;  but,  nevertheless, 
feeling  her  paltry  little  soul  swell  with  the  thought  of 
her  anticipated  triumph.  She  was  sorry  she  could  not 
have  gotten  in  more  about  the  meeting.  Something  in 
regard  to  Rachel  being  in  love  with  Moultrie  would 
doubtless,  she  imagined,  have  stuck  an  additional  thorn 
into  Theodora's  flesh,  which,  although  it  might  have  been 
promptly  extracted,  would  have  left  a  festering  sore  for 
some  time  to  come.  Still,  on  the  whole,  she  was  not 
unsatisfied. 


CHAPTER  YL 

DOUBTS    ARE   DISSIPATED. 

THEODOBA  went  to  her  room,  and  throwing  herself  into 
a  large  arm-chair  that  stood  in  front  of  the  sea-coal  tire, 
tried  to  compose  her  mind  so  as  to  think  calmly  of  the 
interview  through  which  she  had  just  passed,  as  well  as 
of  its  antecedents  and  its  possible  consequences.  Al- 
though she  had  borne  herself  in  Miss  Billy  Bremen's 
presence  with  her  accustomed  dignity  in  trying  or  em- 
barrassing situations,  there  was  no  denying  the  fact  that 
the  information  that  the  lady  had  communicated  had 
greatly  unsettled  her.  She  called  to  mind  as  well  as  she 
could  the  circumstances  which,  over  a  year  ago,  had 
attended  the  action  of  the  Vigilance  Committee  in  the 
cases  of  Messrs.  Jim  Bosler  and  Luke  Kittle.  She  re- 
membered how  her  father,  Dr.  Willis,  who  had  been 
the  head  of  the  organization,  which  numbered  among  its 
members  the  best  citizens  of  the  locality,  had  been  in- 
duced through  her  entreaties  and  the  arguments  of 
Tyscovus  not  only  to  resign  the  presidency,  but  to  retire 
altogether  from  the  association.  She  knew  very  well 
what  lawless  individuals  the  two  men  were  upon  whom 
the  Vigilance  Committee  had  visited  the  punishment 
which  the  law  was  incompetent  to  inflict ;  that  Bosler 
had  only  a  short  time  before  wantonly  killed  an  inoffen- 
sive man,  the  eleventh  of  a  series  of  murders  he  had 
committed  in  Colorado,  and  that  Kittle,  almost  as  vile  a 


98  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

character  as  the  other,  had  deliberately  planned  the 
death  of  a  man  whose  existence  was  obnoxious  to  him, 
and  had  carried  out  his  conception  in  the  very  town  in 
which  she  lived.  She  also  knew  that  there  was  general 
rejoicing  in  the  Territory  over  the  double  execution  that 
the  Vigilance  Committee  had  effected  ;  that  meetings  had 
been  held  and  congratulatory  resolutions  passed,  and  that 
the  press  of  the  Territory,  without,  so  far  as  she  knew, 
a  single  exception,  had  justified  the  action  as  in  every 
way  commendable.  Still,  she  had  always,  while  to  some 
extent  admitting  the  propriety  of  the  course  taken  by 
the  people  to  rid  themselves  of  two  desperadoes,  recog- 
nized the  fact  that  in  the  eye  of  the  law  the  executions 
were  deliberate  murders,  and  that  although  the  regular 
administrators  of  justice  might  have  been  incapable  or 
indisposed  to  act  against  the  members  of  the  committee, 
just  as  they  had  always  been  incapable  of  proceeding 
against  Bosler  and  Kittle,  it  had  nevertheless  been  their 
duty  to  ferret  out  the  perpetrators  and  to  bring  them  to 
trial.  She  remembered,  too,  how  glad  she  had  been  that 
her  father  had  left  the  committee  before  the  hanging  of 
the  two  men. 

And  now  she  was  told  that  her  own  husband,  the  one 
in  all  the  world  most  dear  to  her,  whose  whole  mind  was, 
she  thought,  trained  in  the  paths  of  justice,  and  truth,  and 
uprightness,  whithersoever  they  led,  had  not  only  been 
the  leader  of  the  committee  on  that  eventful  night,  but 
had  sat  in  judgment  on  those  men,  had  condemned  them 
to  death,  and  had  ordered  their  execution.  Was  it  all 
true  ?  Had  this  woman,  for  some  nefarious  purpose  of  her 
own,  come  to  her  with  these  lies  upon  her  lips  ?  That  she 
was  malicious  and  unscrupulous  was  very  certain  ;  that  she 
had  misrepresented  the  characters  of  the  two  scoundrel? 


DOUBTS   ABE   DISSIPATED.  99 

was  unquestionable.  These  were  matters  of  very  little 
consequence  to  Theodora.  Had  she  uttered  a  falsehood 
when  she  declared  that  Geoffrey  Moultrie  had  sent  those 
men  to  their  death  ?  That  was  the  question  that  concerned 
her.  For,  if  true,  not  only  had  he,  in  her  opinion,  com- 
mitted a  grievous  wrong,  but  he  had,  by  keeping  her  in 
ignorance  of  his  act,  been  disloyal  to  her,  his  wife, 
whose  inmost  thoughts  had  always  been  open  to  him. 
She  sat  with  her  hands  covering  her  face,  while  every 
now  and  then  a  tear  dropped  from  between  her  closed 
fingers.  She  tried  to  believe  that  the  woman  had  lied. 
At  one  moment  she  had  almost  fully  persuaded  herself 
that  it  was  a  falsehood,  just  as  was  the  assertion  that 
Moultrie  had  insulted  the  women  at  the  meeting.  But 
the  merciless  logic  of  circumstances  soon  came  to  brush 
away  the  flimsy  wall  she  had  set  up  against  being  con- 
vinced, and  she  brought  to  mind  many  events  that  went 
to  show  that  what  the  woman  had  said  was  true. 

She  remembered  the  night  on  which  Bosler  and  Kittle 
were  hung.  Moultrie  was  staying  at  her  father's  house 
at  the  time.  All  that  day  there  had  been  many  persons 
calling  to  see  him.  He  had  announced  that  business 
would  take  him  away  early  in  the  evening,  and  that  he 
should  probably  be  absent  all  night.  He  did  not  tell  her 
what  his  business  was,  but  at  eight  o'clock  he  had  left 
the  house,  with  a  large  army-revolver  buckled  around  his 
waist.  She  did  not  see  him  again  for  several  days,  and 
then  he  was  with  Tyscovus  on  the  butte.  He  had  found 
his  daughter — she  who  for  many  years  had  been  supposed 
to  be  Bosler' s  child.  But  the  night  on  which  he  had 
left  Chetolah,  Bo&ler  and  Kittle  were  hanged  to  the 
giant  pine-tree  that  stood  half-way  up  the  butte.  She 
had  never  asked  him  for  the  details  of  his  adventures, 


100  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  he  had  never  volunteered  any  information  on  the 
subject,  beyond  the  fact  that  Lai  had  escaped  from  Bos- 
ler's  cabin  at  Bighorn  Spring  after  her  reputed  father 
had  informed  her  of  his  intention  to  marry  her  to  Luke 
Kittle,  had  taken  refuge  with  Tyscovus  on  the  butte, 
and  had  there  been  found  by  her  real  father. 

Since  then  the  hanging  of  the  men  had  often  been  the 
subject  of  conversation  between  her  and  her  husband, 
but  he  had  never  by  one  single  word  intimated  that  he 
had  had  anything  whatever  to  do  with  the  deed.  If  he 
had  been  the  leader  of  the  committee,  the  judge,  the 
executioner,  he  had  not  taken  her  into  his  confidence, 
but  had,  by  his  silence,  left  the  fact  to  corne  to  her 
knowledge  by  the  mouth  of  a  vulgar  woman,  who  had 
insulted  her  in  her  own  house,  and  had  left  it  with 
threats  of  vengeance.  Was  it  possible  that  he  would 
wilfully  keep  her  in  ignorance  of  an  act  of  his  life  second 
to  none  other  in  importance,  and  which  so  nearly  con- 
cerned a  member  of  her  household,  his  own  daughter  ? 
Ah  !  if  it  were  true,  then  indeed  had  her  idol  fallen 
from  the  lofty  height  on  which  she  had  placed  him. 
She  might  forgive  him  the  act.  She  remembered  that 
her  own  father  had  held  the  position  which  she  had 
now  been  told  her  husband  had  occupied  ;  she  recalled 
to  mind  the  fact  that  she  herself  had  looked  with  leniency 
upon  the  doings  of  vigilance  committees,  which,  though 
unlawful,  were  nevertheless  in  the  interests  of  law  and 
order.  But  all  that  was  before  their  deeds  had  been 
brought  home  to  her  by  the  knowledge  that  her  own 
husband  had  been  the  chief  actor  in  an  illegal  execution. 
It  was  a  shock  to  her.  It  would  have  distressed  her  had 
he  himself  told  her  of  the  part  he  had  taken,  but  she  would 
have  condoned  it — yes,  and  much  more — anything,  in 


DOUBTS   AKE  DISSIPATED.  101 

fact,  that  lie  could  have  done,  whether  against  the  laws  of 
God  or  man,  if  he  himself  had  whispered  in  her  ear  the 
story  of  his  sin  or  crime.  But  to  have  lived  for  more 
than  two  years  under  his  roof,  to  have  had  his  lips  press 
hers,  to  have  lain  upon  his  breast,  and  to  have  listened  to 
the  beating  of  a  heart  that  she  had  thought  was  open*  to 
her  in  all  its  inmost  recesses,  and  then  to  find  that  she, 
his  wife,  had  been  shut  out  from  all  knowledge  of  a 
secret  that  was  known  to  a  low-minded  person,  such  as  was 
this  Bremen  woman,  and  which  by  to-morrow  would  be 
the  town  talk — this  was  gall  and  wormwood  to  her.  It 
was  a  sin  and  a  crime  both — not  one  only  ;  one  sin,  one 
crime  she  could  have  forgiven — but  repeated  every 
moment  of  their  two  lives  since  she  had  been  his  wife. 
Yes,  that  very  morning  he  had  kissed  her,  and  spoken 
words  of  love  to  her,  and  with  a  smile  upon  his  face,  as 
though  she  were  all  in  all  to  him,  while  at  the  very  time 
there  had  been  treason  in  his  heart.  That  she  felt  she 
could  never  forgive. 

She  raised  her  eyes,  and  looked  at  the  Sevres  porcelain 
clock  that  stood  on  the  mantel -piece  before  her.  It  was 
nearly  eleven  o'clock.  The  woman  had  made  threats 
against  her  husband  of  which  it  was  her  duty  to  warn 
him  ;  and  then,  though  she  saw  no  loop-hole  through 
which  to  escape  from  the  conviction  that  she  had  been 
told  the  truth  relative  to  his  connection  with  the  hang- 
ing of  Bosler  and  Kittle,  she  could  not  rest  till  she  had 
had  the  confirmation  or  denial  from  his  own  lips.  He 
had  never  lied  to  her — of  that  she  felt  he  was  incapable 
— and  even  in  his  refusal  to  give  her  his  confidence  there 
was  no  dishonor.  There  might  be  something  he  would 
say  that  would  take  from  this  act  all  its  sting,  and  then 
— ah,  yes  ! — then  she  would  forgive  him. 


102  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

She  went  into  her  boudoir  adjoining,  and  sat  down  at 
her  desk  to  write  him  a  note,  requesting  him  to  return 
to  the  house  immediately,  as  matters  of  great  importance 
required  his  immediate  presence.  His  photograph,  taken 
just  after  their  marriage,  stood  on  a  little  easel  before 
her.  She  stopped  writing  to  look  at  it ;  and  as  she 
looked,  all  her  past  married  life  came  in  rapid  review  be- 
fore  her.  It  seemed  to  her  as  though  she  saw  with  super- 
natural power  every  act  of  love  and  kindness  that  he  had 
ever  done  her.  His  brave,  manly,  straightforward  life 
was  all  before  her.  She  recalled  how  he  had  made  for 
himself  a  name  that  all  the  world  honored  ;  how  moun- 
tains, and  deserts,  and  rivers  had  yielded  before  his  well- 
directed  energy  and  power  ;  how  in  all  the  trying  situa- 
tions in  which  he  had  been  placed — in  all  his  successes,  in 
all  his  misfortunes — he  had  borne  himself  before  all  men 
with  honor  and  courage,  and  that  his  name  was  a  tower 
of  strength  to  anything  with  which  he  was  connected. 

And  she  for  one  fault,  which,  perhaps,  was  not  a  fault, 
had  said  in  her  heart  that  she  could  never  forgive  him, 
and  this  without  hearing  a  word  from  him.  "  My  God  ! 
what  was  I  about  to  do  ?' '  she  exclaimed  aloud.  c  *  My 
pride  has  blinded  me — my  selfish  pride.  Oh,  my  love  ! 
my  love  !  it  is  I  who  am  disloyal."  She  pressed  her 
lips  to  the  photograph  as  she  spoke,  and  then  throwing 
down  her  pen  and  closing  her  desk,  rang  the  bell. 
"  Order  my  coupe  immediately,"  she  said  to  her  maid. 
Then  she  put  on  her  hat  and  shawl,  and  went  to  Lalage's 
room.  "I  am  going  down-town  to  see  your  father," 
she  said.  "Something  has  occurred  that  requires  his 
immediate  attention.  Have  you  any  message  for  him  ?" 

Lalage  looked  up  from  the  book  she  was  reading,  and 
on  which  Mrs.  Bowdoin  was  making  comments  in  the 


DOUBTS   ARE  DISSIPATED.  103 

nature  of  explanations  and  amplifications.  She  noticed 
the  slightly  agitated  manner  which  not  even  Theodora, 
with  all  her  self-control,  could  altogether  subdue,  and  a 
little  feeling  of  alarm  arose. 

4 (  It  is  nothing  much,"  said  Theodora,  observing  the 
expression  in  Lalage's  face,  "  only  something  about 
the  election  that  requires  to  be  looked  after  at  once,  and 
— and — "  she  added,  hesitatingly,  "  concerning  those  two 
men,  Bosler  and  Kittle,  who — " 

Lalage's  face  became  pallid,  and  she  staggered  as 
though  she  would  have  fallen  to  the  floor.  She  man- 
aged, however,  to  recover  her  composure — for  Theo- 
dora had  stopped  speaking  on  seeing  the  effect  produced 
upon  the  girl — and  to  say,  "  Have  they  been  heard 
from?" 

"  Heard  from  !"  exclaimed  Theodora.  "  Why,  don't 
you  know  what  became  of  them  ?" 

"  I  only  know  that  they  got  away  from  the  Yigilance 
Committee.  I  never  heard  anything  more,  and  1  was 
always  afraid  to  ask. ' ' 

Then  he  had  not  even  told  his  daughter,  thought 
Theodora.  She  thanked  God  that  no  other  person,  at 
any  rate,  had  been  his  confidant.  Yes,  he  must  have 
had  good  reasons  for  keeping  the  matter  secret  from 
both  ;  but  it  was  not  for  her  to  reveal  the  truth. 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  said,  with  as  much  coolness  as  she 
could  command,  and  with  the  intention  of  relieving 
Lalage's  fears,  "  there  is  no  fear  of  their  ever  coming 
back  !  They  will  never  show  their  faces  again  to  any  of 
us."  Then  she  called  to  mind  the  fact  that  Lai  was 
Geoffrey's  daughter,  and  she  put  her  arm  around  the  girl's 
neck  and  kissed  her.  "  I  don't  believe  you  half  know 
how  much  I  love  you,  dear,"  she  continued.  "  You  be- 


104  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

long  to  him,  and  everything  that  is  his  is  mine.  Good- 
by  ;  I'll  give  your  love  to  him,  and  tell  him  I  found  you 
hard  at  work."  Then  with  a  smile  and  a  nod  to  Mrs. 
Bowdoin,  she  was  gone. 

Her  coupe  was  at  the  door.  The  footman  touched  his 
hat  as  she  crossed  the  sidewalk.  "  To  Mr.  Moultrie's 
office,"  she  said,  as  she  stepped  into  the  carriage.  She 
felt  that  every  moment  was  of  value.  "  And  tell  John 
to  drive  fast,"  she  added. 

"  Somethin's  up,  John,"  said  the  man,  in  a  low 
tone,  as  he  mounted  the  box,  "  and  you're  to  drive  like 
the  devil." 

".All  right!"  answered  the  coachman;  "like  the 
devil  she  goes,  then.  But  what  do  you  think  it  is,  Joey  ? 
I  don't  think  the  madam's  been  down  to  the  office  for 
more'n  a  year. " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  ;  I  ain't  in  her  secrets,  you  see. 
But  there's  Frenchy,  he'll  know  all  about  it.  Them 
dinin'-room  fellows  has  got  the  start  on  us." 

"  Yes,  that's  true  ;  but  then,  Joey,  we  knows 
where  they  go,  and  that's  a  good  deal  with  some  on 
'em." 

"  "Well,  it  ain't  much  with  these  'ere  swells,  'cause,  you 
see,  they  don't  go  nowhere  out  o'  the  way." 

Down  Fifth  Avenue  they  went,  and  then  down  Broad- 
way as  rapidly  as  the  crowded  state  of  that  thoroughfare 
would  permit. 

"  I  think  it's  the  'lection,  Joey,"  said  John  at  last, 
after  a  silence  of  several  minutes,  during  which  whatever 
brain- work  he  could  divert  from  the  task  before  him  of 
guiding  his  horses  had  been  given  to  the  solution  of  the 
problem  that  had  suggested  itself  to  his  mind.  "  Did 
you  read  them  sintiments  in  the  Avenger  this  mornin'  ? 


DOUBTS  ARE  DISSIPATED.  105 

I  tell  you  that  they  went  for  the  boss  like  a  thousand  o' 
brick." 

"  Did  I  read  'em  !"  answered  Joey,  with  a  tone  of 
offended  dignity.  "  Why,  ain't  I  one  o'  O'Leary's  com- 
mittee in  this  'ere  precink  !  Or  in  the  one  where  he 
lives,"  he  continued,  remembering  that  he  had  travelled 
several  miles  from  Moultrie's  stable,  in  which  he  had  his 
legal  residence.  "  There  ain't  much  as  goes  into  that 
paper  as  I  don't  see.  It  did  give  the  boss  perticler  fits. 
But  Lord  bless  you  !  he  don't  care  nothin'  for  Mike 
Flanigan  nor  his  paper,  neither.  I  wish  I  could  a'  seen 
him  a-layin'  out  them  women  !  1  don't  believe  he  left 
a  grease-spot  of  'em.  As  to  the  madam,  I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  you  was  right  about  the  'lection.  She's  just 
as  much  into  it  as  if  she  was  a-runnin'  for  Congress  as 
well  as  her  husband.  It's  somethin'  mighty  strong,  or 
you  wouldn't  see  her  goin'  down-town  at  this  time  o' 
day." 

"  And  there  ain't  no  way  as  we  can  find  out,  'cept 
from  Frenchy,  and  he's  just  about  as  likely  to  get  things 
mixed  as  not,"  said  John,  with  an  accent  of  regret. 
"•I'll  bet  a  dollar  it's  a  mighty  big  thing  as  takes  the 
madam  down-town  to-day.  She's  in  an  awful  hurry." 

"  I  say,  Joey,  ain't  you  goin'  to  vote  for  the  boss  ?" 
he  remarked,  after  another  five  minutes'  silence. 

"  John,  if  I  tell  you  a  secret  don't  you  never  breathe 
it  to  a  livin'  soul." 

"I'm  mum,  Joey  ;  never  a  word  passes  my  lips." 

"  Well,  I'm  goin'  to  vote  for  the  old  man.  He's 
always  treated  me  fair,  and  I'm  goin'  for  him  ;  but 
it  wouldn't  do  to  let  the  boys  know  as  I  scratched 
O'Leary." 

"  I'll  shake  your  hand,  Joey,  for  that  when  I  get  rid 


106  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

o'  these  reins.  I'm  goin'  for  the  boss,  too,  though  he's 
runnin'  agin'  Jackson,  the  riglar  nominee.  He's  a  square 
man,  is  the  boss,  and  he's  goin'  to  get  my  vote  as  sure  as 
you're  born." 

Just  then  the  carriage  turned  into  Wall  Street,  and  in 
a  minute  or  two  stopped  at  Moultrie's  office,  nearly  op- 
posite the  Custom  House.  In  an  instant  "  Joey"  was 
off  the  box  and  the  door  opened.  Theodora  waited  be- 
fore getting  out  till  the  man,  whom  she  sent  at  once  on 
the  errand,  returned  to  say  whether  Moultrie  was  in  or 
not.  She  did  not  have  long  to  wait,  for  Moultrie  him- 
self came  out.  "  Is  anything  the  matter?"  he  said, 
with  a  shade  of  anxiety  in  his  voice  and  look. 

"  Nothing  very  special,  but  yet  something  of  sufficient 
importance  to  require  you  to  be  informed  of  it  at  once." 

"  Then  you  had  better  get  out,  as  we  can  talk  more  at 
ease  in  my  room.  Come  !"  She  gave  him  her  hand, 
and  he  escorted  her  into  his  apartments. 

"  Now,  dear,"  he  said,  as  he  placed  her  in  a  comfort- 
able chair  in  his  private  room  before  a  cheerful  fire, 
while  he  stood  leaning  against  the  mantel-piece,  "I 
must  first  thank  you  for  taking  the  trouble  to  come  all 
the  way  down  here  to  tell  me  in  person  this  important 
piece  of  news." 

"  Yes,  I  think  it  is  important.  I  had  a  visit  this 
morning  from  a  woman  calling  herself  Miss  Billy 
Bremen." 

"Ah!  she  is  one  of  the  committee  I  am  accused  of 
insulting." 

"  The  same.  She  came  to  tell  me  that  she  had  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  you  that  she  was  about  to  publish, 
and  which,  when  known,  would  defeat  your  election  to 
Congress." 


DOUBTS   AEE  DISSIPATED.  107 

"  She  overestimates  its  importance.  There  is  nothing 
I  have  ever  done  that  would  lose  me  one  vote.  There 
is  one  thing  that  I  regret,  but  the  publication  of  that 
would  gain  me  a  thousand  votes  more  than  I  would 
otherwise  get ;  for  the  world  at  large  would  look  on  it 
in  a  different  light  from  that  in  which  I  see  it.  I  have 
never  told  it  to  you,  my  darling,  because  I  have  been 
ashamed  of  the  part  I  took,  and  I  feared — yes,  without 
cause  I  know  now,"  as  Theodora,  rising  from  her  chair, 
threw  herself  into  his  arms,  "  that  you  might  think  me 
a  little  less  worthy  of  all  your  love." 

"  1  know  it  all,  Geoffrey.     That  woman  told  me." 

"  Ah,  well,"  he  said,  with  a  little  sadness  in  his  tone, 
as  he  pressed  her  head  against  his  breast,  "  it  was  not  so 
much  the  deed  that  was  wrong  as  were  the  motives  that 
led  me  to  do  it.  When  it  was  suggested  to  me,  in  the  first 
place,  that  I  should  take  the  command  of  the  Viligance 
Committee  that  had  been  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  ridding  the  Territory  of  desperate  characters  whose 
crimes  had  terrified  the  people,  and  whom  the  law  was 
powerless  to  reach,  1  declined,  because  my  heart  was  not 
in  the  work,  and  I  really  disapproved  of  the  method  of 
procedure  contemplated.  When  I  was  told  that  one  of 
the  men  to  be  seized,  tried,  and  executed  was  the  wretch 
who  had  stolen  my  child  and  had  been  the  cause  of  my 
wife's  insanity  and  death,  I  reconsidered  my  determina- 
tion, and  accepted  the  leadership  that  had  been  offered 
me.  Herein  was  my  wrong  :  that  which  1  was  unwilling 
to  do  for  the  good  of  the  public  I  undertook  from  motives 
of  personal  vengeance.  The  hanging  of  those  men  was 
a  righteous  act,  but  it  was  a  sin  for  me  to  be  the  one  to 
condemn  them  to  death. 

"  I  soon  became  aware  of  this — for  at  first,  led  away 


108  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

by  the  sense  of  the  wrongs  1  had  endured,  I  did  not  per- 
ceive it — and  then,  knowing  your  own  high  standard  of 
right,  I  feared  to  tell  you  what  I  had  done,  lest  you  should 
see  in  me  some  one  lower  than  the  ideal  you  had  con- 
ceived. That  is  all." 

He  ceased  speaking,  but  she  made  no  response,  though 
he  could  feel  her  form  trembling  in  his  embrace. 
Almost  imperceptibly  his  arms  clasped  less  strongly. 
Did  she  really  condemn  him  ?  he  asked  himself.  He 
had  not  spared  himself  in  the  confession  he  had  made  ;  he 
had  appealed  to  feelings  that  are  supposed  to  reside  to 
some  extent  in  every  woman's  heart,  but  she  had  been 
silent.  For  a  moment  it  seemed  to  him  as  though  he 
had  lost  her  forever,  for  he  was  one  of  those  men  with 
whom  it  must  be  everything  or  nothing.  It  was  not,  he 
thought,  a  case  for  argument,  but  yet  he  felt  as  though 
he  must  make  one  last  effort  to  bring  her  heart  back  to 
him. 

"  For  nearly  seventeen  years,"  he  continued,  "  I  had 
suffered  agonies  which,  fortunately  for  mankind,  few  are 
called  upon  to  endure.  The  certainty  of  the  death  of 
my  child  would  have  been  a  relief,  but  that  certainty 
was  denied  me.  Night  after  night  I  had  lain  awake  or 
had  paced  the  floor,  thinking  of  her  who  was  lost  to  me, 
and  haunted  by  visions  of  what  might  be  her  fate.  On 
the  arid  plains  of  Russia,  amid  the  snows  of  the  Andes, 
the  image  I  had  formed  of  her  was  ever  before  me. 
Then,  when  I  had  abandoned  all  hope,  I  was  told  that 
my  child  was  found,  and  that  the  wretch  who  had  brought 
all  this  sorrow  upon  me  was  within  my  reach.  If,  in  the 
fulness  of  my  joy,  I  yielded  to  the  feeling  that,  for 
good  or  evil,  is  in  every  man's  breast,  and  did  that 
which  in  calmer  moments  I  perceived  was  arrogating 


DOUBTS  AEE  DISSIPATED.  109 

to  myself  powers*  that  belong  to  God,  it  seems  to  me 
that—" 

4 '  You  would  have  been  only  a  little  less  than  divine  to 
have  resisted  !"  exclaimed  Theodora,  raising  her  face 
and  throwing  her  arms  around  his  neck.  "  Yes,  it  was 
wrong,"  she  continued,  "  but  it  was  human,  and  I  really 
think  now  I  should  have  loved  you  less  had  you  allowed 
the  men  to  escape.  But  I  was  not  silent  from  any  doubt 
as  to  how  I  should  act  toward  you,"  she  continued,  as 
he  kissed  her  again  and  again,  "  but  because  I  felt  I 
had  been  unjust  to  you,  and  my  mind  was  full  of  self- 
reproaches.  When  1  reflected,"  she  went  on,  after  a 
pause,  and  moved  by  that  frankness  that  was  one  of  the 
most  charming  traits  of  her  character,  u  upon  what  that 
woman  told  me,  I  was  at  first  overcome  with  sur- 
prise, and  my  pride  was  piqued  that  you  had  kept  the 
matter  secret  from  me.  That,  I  think,  caused  me  to  see 
but  one  side  of  the  question,  and  for  a  moment  I  felt  as 
though  I  had  suffered  a  great  injury,  and  that  you  had 
committed  a  serious  crime.  But  it  was  only  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  I  came  here  confident  that  you  would  dispel 
every  cloud  from  my  mind.  But  never  be  again  afraid 
of  testing  my  love.  If  you  were  to  kill  fifty  men  you 
would  still  be  dear  to  me." 

"I  suppose  that  is  a  very  womanly  expression,"  he 
said,  smiling,  "  but  I  don't  propose  to  test  your  love  to 
that  extent,  though  I  shall  not  in  future  refuse  to  put  it 
on  trial,  should  occasion  require.  I  have  never  told  Lai 
of  my  part  in  the  hanging  of  the  men.  Indeed,  she  does 
not  even  know  that  they  are  dead.  But  here,  I  think,  I 
had  more  justification  for  silence  than  I  had  with  you, 
for  you  know  that,  notwithstanding  Bosler's  bad  treat- 
ment of  her  at  the  last,  he  had,  as  she  said,  been  kind  to 


110  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

her  after  his  way  for  many  years,  and*  she  is  not  one  to 
forget  such  things.  She  cannot,  however,  learn  the  truth 
more  appropriately  from  any  one  than  from  me,  and  I 
shall  take  an  early  opportunity  of  telling  her  all.  I  am 
only  sorry  that  your  knowledge  should  have  come  from 
Miss  Billy  Bremen  instead  of  from  your  husband." 

"  But  don't  you  think,  dear,  that  something  should  be 
done  to  counteract  any  steps  to  injure  you  that  she  may 
take  ?  Depend  upon  it,  the  statement  she  will  make 
public  will  be  full  of  lies  from  beginning  to  end. ' ' 

Moultrie  thought  for  a  moment,  and  then  answered  in  a 
tone  of  decision,  "  Yes,  and  I  think  we  shall  take  the  wind 
out  of  her  sails.  I  shall  at  once  prepare  and  send  to  the 
evening  newspapers  a  full  statement  of  the  whole  affair, 
or  rather  I  shall  request  the  editor  of  each  of  the  three 
principal  evening  papers  to  send  an  interviewing  reporter 
to  me  at  once.  That  will  be  better.  The  account  will 
be  copied  by  the  morning  papers,  so  that  Miss  Billy  will 
find  her  news  partaking  somewhat  of  the  character  of 
ancient  history. " 

He  went  to  a  table  and  hurriedly  wrote  three  notes. 
Then  he  rang  a  bell,  and  told  the  man  who  answered  to 
take  them  at  once  to  the  offices  of  the  papers  to  which 
they  were  directed.  "  Now,"  he  continued,  "I  shall 
telegraph  to  the  Governor  of  Colorado  and  request  him 
to  send  me  a  statement  in  regard  to  the  characters  of 
Bosler  and  Kittle  and  the  feeling  in  the  Territory  rela- 
tive to  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  the  course  of  the 
Vigilance  Committee  ;  and  also  to  state  what  action 
was  taken  by  the  legislature  concerning  the  matter  at  its 
session  a  few  weeks  subsequently.  Although  1  cannot 
get  an  answer  in  time  for  this  evening's  papers,  it  will 
arrive  in  ample  season  for  those  of  to-morrow  morning." 


DOUBTS   AEE   DISSIPATED.  Ill 

While  Moultrie  was  speaking  and  arranging  his  plans 
for  the  circumvention  of  Miss  Billy  Bremen's  schemes, 
Theodora's  face  wore  an  expression  of  intense  satisfac- 
tion. Here,  indeed,  she  thought  was  a  man  of  whom 
she  might  be  proud  to  be  the  wife.  Without  the  least 
sign  of  annoyance,  still  less  of  fear,  he  had  at  once  taken 
in  all  the  possibilities  of  the  situation,  and  had  arranged 
his  plan  of  action  with  a  boldness  that  excited  her 
warmest  admiration.  She  saw  at  once  how  completely 
he  would  neutralize  the  designs  of  his  enemies  by  the 
measures  that  he  proposed  taking.  Indeed,  as  he  had 
said,  there  was  no  doubt  that  the  facts  of  his  connection 
with  the  Vigilance  Committee  would  be  regarded  as  being 
to  his  advantage  rather  than  to  his  detriment,  and  would 
increase  his  vote  several  hundred  above  that  which  he 
would  otherwise  receive. 

When  he  had  finished  she  prepared  to  take  her  leave. 
"  I  am  so  glad  1  came  down,"  she  said.  "  It  is  such  a 
pleasure  to  me  to  be  of  any  service  to  you,  and  this  time 
1  have  helped  you  a  little,  haven't  1  ?" 

He  took  her  face  between  his  hands  and  kissed  her. 
"  You  have  not  only  rendered  me  a  great  service,  but 
you  have  done  still  more  for  me  by  giving  me  your 
love  and  causing  me  to  understand  that  nothing  I  am 
likely  to  do  will  make  me  lose  it. ' ' 

11  No,  nothing,"  she  answered,  smiling,  "  not  even 
your  refusal  to  advocate  woman's  rights  in  Congress. 
But  I  had  almost  forgotten,"  she  continued,  drawing,  as 
she  spoke,  a  letter  from  her  pocket.  "  Just  after  you 
left  the  house  this  morning  a  messenger  brought  me  this 
communication,  and  1  want  your  advice  as  to  what  an- 
swer to  give." 

She  handed  him  the  letter,  and  he  read  as  follows  : 


112  A   STKONG-MLNDED   WOMAN. 

"  7  WEST  -TH  STREET,  NEW  YOKK,  ) 
November  4,  1874.      i 

"DEAK  MADAM:  I  am  directed  by  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  '  Martha  Washington  Medical  College  for 
Women  '  to  notify  you  that  at  a  meeting  held  this  evening 
you  were  unanimously  elected  a  member  of  the  Board. 

"  I  am  also  instructed  to  inform  you  that  you  were  at 
the  same  time,  and  by  a  like  vote,  appointed  Professor 
of  Physiology  in  the  College. 

u  In  thus  endeavoring  to  secure  your  valuable  services 
to  the  institution  under  its  charge,  the  Board  hopes  it  is 
acting  in  accordance  with  your  wishes,  and  that  it  may 
look  for  an  acceptance  of  both  positions. 

"  I  am,  madam, with  great  regard, 
1 1  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  RACHEL  MEADOWS,  Secretary." 

"  Why,  that's  the  young  lady  who  spoke  last  night  at 
the  meeting,  and  whom  I  am  accused  of  insulting  !' '  ex- 
claimed Moultrie.  "  Well,  my  dear,  to  use  a  slang  ex- 
pression, '  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it  ?'  " 

"  That  is  for  you  to  say,"  she  answered.  "  No  wife 
has  the  right  to  undertake  any  public  work  or  duty  of 
any  kind  without  her  husband's  consent.  The  first  thing 
she  has  to  consider  is  its  possible  effect  upon  him. ' ' 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right,  generally  speaking  ;  at  any 
rate,  it  is  very  kind  of  you  to  think  so.  But  I  should 
feel  like  a  tyrant  were  I  to  interfere  with  you  in  such  a 
matter  as  this.  I  see  there  are  two  appointments.  In 
regard  to  the  trusteeship,  1  should  think  there  could  be  no 
doubt  relative  to  the  propriety  of  your  acceptance,  pro- 
vided only  that  your  associates  are  ladies.  Do  you  hap- 
pen to  know  who  they  are  ?" 


DOUBTS   AEE  DISSIPATED.  113 

"  Yes  ;  an  announcement  of  the  college  came  with  the 
letter.  I  did  not  bring  it  with  me,  but  I  looked  over  it 
and  examined  the  list  of  officers.  Among  the  trustees 
are  Mrs.  Gosford,  Mrs.  Fay,  Mrs.  Darby,  Miss  Oxworth, 
and  Miss  Meadows,  the  secretary.  They  are  all  ladies 
of  good  position,  and  several  of  them  are  acquaintances." 

"  Then  we  will  regard  that  part  of  the  proposition  as 
settled  by  your  acceptance,  provided  it  is  entirely  agree- 
able to  you.  The  other  part  is  more  important,  for  it  is 
a  position  that  involves  publicity  and  great  responsibility, 
and  the  assumption  of  which  by  you  will  immediately 
cause  more  or  less  friendly  and  unfriendly  comment 
among  your  acquaintances — all  of  which  requires  con- 
sideration. Are  you  prepared  to  give  an  answer  now  ?" 

"  Yes,  as  fully  as  1  ever  shall  be." 

"  Do  you  feel  competent  to  tackle  the  subject  ?" 

"Yes." 

"Now,  my  dear  child,"  he  continued,  "I  am  per- 
fectly free  to  say  that  your  acceptance  of  this  appointment 
would  not  interfere  in  the  slightest  degree  with  me  or 
any  of  my  plans.  Neither  would  it  offend  my  sense  of 
what  is  right  for  my  wife  to  do.  When  1  married  you 
I  knew  what  the  course  of  your  studies  had  been,  and 
I  saw  that  you  were  correct  in  the  opinion  that  you  once 
expressed  to  me,  that  there  is  nothing  incompatible  be- 
tween anatomical  and  physiological  studies  and  the  most 
bewitching  womanly  delicacy.  Well,  my  darling,  a 
married  life  of  over  two  years  has  not  taught  me  differ- 
ently. You  are  still  to  me  the  sweetest  woman  the  sun 
ever  shone  upon,  and  I  do  not  believe  you  will  be  any 
the  less  tender  and  fascinating  as  a  professor  of  physiology 
than  as  plain  Theodora  Moultrie. " 

"  Oh,  Geoffrey,  how  good  you  are  !"  cried  Theodora, 


114  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMA-N. 

her  lovely  face  beaming  with  the  pleasure  his  words  pro- 
duced. "And  am  I  all  that  to  you?"  she  continued. 
"  I  never  would  have  believed  it  if  you  had  not  told  me. 
So  you  advise  me  to  accept  the  professorship  ?" 

"  Ah,  my  dear  !''  he  exclaimed,  laughing,  "  I  did  not 
say  that.  Advice  and  approval  are  two  very  different 
things.  I  shall  be  most  pleased  at  your  doing  that  which 
pleases  you  best.  It  is  a  selfish  feeling  with  me,  I  admit. 
I  wish  to  see  you  happy.  I  perceive  how  strong  a  hold 
your  studies  have  upon  you  ;  therefore,  when  you  tell 
me  that  you  feel  competent  to  teach  physiology  to 
women,  and  that  you  would  like  to  do  it,  1  find  my  hap- 
piness in  giving  my  consent." 

"  And  would  you  like  it  better  if  I  declined  ?  Oh, 
Geoffrey,  I  do  so  want  to  please  you  !  Suppose,"  she 
continued,  as  she  made  him  sit  down,  while  she  placed 
herself  on  his  knee,  and  put  one  arm  around  his  neck 
— "  suppose  I  were  to  tell  you  that  I  did  not  care  to 
take  this  appointment,  would  you  be  better  pleased  than 
you  are  now,  that  you  think  I  wish  to  accept  it  ?  Oh, 
my  love,  tell  me  what  you  wish  me  to  do  without  regard 
to  me  !" 

"  You  little  witch,  you  would  seduce  the  very  elect,  I 
do  believe.  Have  I  not  told  you,  dear  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  but  you  must  answer  my  question." 

"  Well,  I  will.  If  you  were  to  tell  me  that  you  did 
not  care  to  accept  the  professorship,  you  would  make  me 
very  unhappy." 

"  Why  ?" 

4 '  Because  I  should  feel  that  you  were  telling  me  what 
was  not  true  in  order  to  please  me." 

"  You  think,  then,  that  I  am  anxious  to  take  the 
place  ?" 


DOUBTS   ABE  DISSIPATED.  115 

"  Yes  ;  I  know  you  are." 

"  You  are  right,"  she  said,  gravely,  after  a  moment's 
pause.  "  I  am  anxious  ;  but  you  will  believe  me,  Geof- 
frey, when  I  say  to  you,  as  I  do  now  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  with  my  heart  beating  against  yours,  that  I  would 
take  more  pleasure  in  acting  according  to  your  wish  than 
in  doing  anything  else  in  all  the  world." 

"  I  do  believe  you,  dear  ;  but  woman  is  ever  ready 
to  sacrifice  herself  for  the  man  she  loves,  and  to  take 
pleasure  in  the  act.  Generally,  he  is  willing  enough  to 
accept  the  immolation.  It  assures  him  of  her  love,  and 
gratifies  his  vanity  at  the  same  time.  Now,  I  need  no 
such  proof  of  your  affection,  and  shall  I  tell  you  ?  I  am 
vainer  of  your  knowledge  and  your  good  sense  than  I 
am  of  any  qualities  of  mine  that  cause  you  to  love  me. 
Therefore,  you  will  please  me  best  by  accepting  the  pro- 
fessorship tendered  you  ;  and  I  here  pledge  you  my 
hearty  support,  and  promise  you  that  no  word  of  mine 
shall  ever  reproach  you." 

"  Oh,  Geoffrey,  are  you  sure  of  all  that  ?" 

"  Quite  sure,  dear.  If  you  were  to  decline,  you 
would  grieve  me  very  much." 

"  Then,  I  shall  take  it  !"  she  exclaimed,  rising.  "  I 
shall  go  home  and  write  my  acceptance  at  once.  But  re- 
member, I  shall  hold  it  only  during  your  pleasure." 

"  You  will  hold  it  as  long  as  you  please,  and  that  will 
be  during  my  pleasure. " 

He  stopped  to  write  his  telegram  to  the  Governor  of 
Colorado,  and  then  the  two  left  the  room.  She  sent  the 
carriage  home  empty,  and  he  walked  with  her  as  far  as 
the  corner  of  Wall  Street  and  Broadway,  and  saw  her 
safely  over  the  latter  street  at  this,  its  most  crowded 
part.  Then  he  sent  the  telegram  to  the  governor,  and 


116  A  STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

returned  to  his  office  to  meet  the  three  reporters.  Two 
hours  afteward  the  true  story  of  the  hanging  of  Jim 
Bosler  and  Luke  Kittle  was  scattered  broadcast  over  the 
city. 

There  was  but  one  opinion  among  people  of  all 
classes  in  regard  to  the  act,  and  that  was,  that  it  was  a 
righteous  deed  well  done.  But  there  were  many  who 
professed  different  views  from  those  they  really  held. 
There  was  much  impotent  gnashing  of  teeth  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  more  virulent  of  Moultrie's  political 
enemies,  for  they  saw  their  strongest  card  rendered  use- 
less. The  people  at  the  Avenger  and  Controller  offices 
felt  particularly  indignant,  for  they  had  each  had  a  visit 
that  morning  from  Miss  Billy  Bremen,  who,  with  much 
malicious  glee,  informed  them  that  the  publication  would 
fill  the  hearts  of  Moultrie  and  his  friends  with  terror. 
Now  they  saw  that,  so  far  from  being  scared  at  the  idea  of 
his  connection  with  the  affair  becoming  known,  he  had 
voluntarily  told  the  whole  story.  Toward  evening, 
they,  as  well  as  the  other  papers  to  be  issued  in  the  morn- 
ing, were  provided  with  copies  of  the  governor's  tele- 
gram, which  was  as  follows  : 

li  DENVER,  November  5,  1874. 
u  To  GEOFFREY  MOULTRIE,  ESQ.,  NEW  YORK. 

"  The  execution  of  James  Bosler  and  Luke  Kittle  in 
the  fall  of  1872,  by  the  Vigilance  Committee  of  Hell- 
bender, in  this  Territory,  met  with  the  universal  approval 
of  the  people.  Both  were  of  the  worst  type  of  scoun- 
drels, and  Bosler  had  murdered  eleven  men.  The  law 
was  powerless  to  reach  these  men,  and  the  public  safety 
demanded  their  death.  In  accordance  with  the  general 
wish  expressed  by  the  people  in  public  meetings  and 


DOUBTS   ARE  DISSIPATED.  117 

through  the  press,  an  act  of  indemnity  and  of  thanks  was 
passed  by  the  Legislative  Council  at  the  session  of  1873- 
74,  which  I  had  great  pleasure  in  approving. 
"W.  C.  PKENTISS, 

"  Governor  of  Colorado." 

On  receiving  a  copy  of  this  telegram  the  Avenger  and 
the  Controller  thought  it  advisable  not  to  mention  the 
affair,  though  the  other  morning  papers  published  it  in 
full,  besides  making  copious  extracts  from  the  account  of 
Moultrie's  interview  with  the  reporters. 

After  the  return  from  Jerome  Park,  Moultrie  com- 
municated to  Lalage  the  whole  story  of  his  connection 
with  the  hanging  of  Bosler  and  Kittle.  That  she  was 
surprised  was  a  matter  of  course,  for  she  had  not  even 
known  that  they  were  dead.  It  can  scarcely  be  said,  how- 
ever, that  she  regretted  that  she  was  now  absolutely  safe 
from  them  in  the  future  ;  for  with  all  the  sense  of  security 
she  experienced  as  Moultrie's  daughter,  and  with  the 
utmost  reliance  on  his  power  to  defend  her,  there  was 
at  times  a  vague  feeling  of  apprehension  in  regard  to 
these  men,  that  nothing  could  altogether  allay.  Lai  was 
endowed  with  excellent  common-sense.  She  was  capable 
of  at  once  perceiving  all  the  salient  points  of  a  subject 
submitted  to  her  mind.  Her  early  associations  had  been 
such  as  to  make  her  familiar  with  the  theory  and  practice 
of  vigilance  committees  ;  and  though  she  had  been  brought 
up  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bosler  to  hate  them,  she  knew  that 
there  was  no  repressive  agency  so  greatly  feared  as' this 
swift,  silent,  but  expeditious  power,  which  struck  its 
deadly  blows  in  the  name  of  law  and  order.  She  knew, 
too,  with  what  thorough  contempt  Bosler  had  regarded  the 
law,  and  how  he  had  repeatedly  said  that  it  would  be  im- 


118  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

possible  to  convict  him — even  if  the  officers  dared  to 
make  his  arrest — for  any  act  he  might  commit.  ' '  Why, ' ' 
he  used  to  say,  "  two  or  three  on  us  owns  them  constables, 
body  and  soul,  and  we  bought  'em  cheap,  too.  And  as  to 
juries,  I'd  jist  like  to  see  twelve  men  in  a  box  in  Costilla 
County,  and  me  with  nary  a  friend  among  'em.  It's 
jist  on  possible.  The  rope  that's  to  hang  me  ain't  bin 
made  yit,  nor  the  rope-walk  built,  nor  the  men  born  as 
is  to  make  it." 

But  with  all  his  bragging,  she  knew  that  he  had  a 
wholesome  fear  of  vigilance  committees,  and  that  this 
feeling  had  often  restrained  him  from  the  commission  of 
contemplated  crimes.  It  was,  therefore,  no  difficult 
undertaking  for  Moultrie  to  convince  her  that  there  were 
times  in  the  lives  of  states  and  of  men  where  the  laws 
that  men  had  made  for  their  own  good  must  be  disre- 
garded in  the  presence  of  circumstances  for  which  the 
laws  made  no  specific  provision.  He  reminded  her  that 
the  killing  of  a  man  in  the  abstract  is  no  crime.  Homi- 
cide in  personal  self-defence  is  a  justifiable  act,  and  homi- 
cide in  defence  of  the  State  a  still  more  righteous  deed. 
Even  killing  in  the  protection  of  property  is  perfectly 
legitimate. 

He  told  her  how,  in  the  suppression  of  a  mutiny,  an 
army  or  navy  officer  does  not  hesitate  to  kill  on  the  spot ; 
that  policemen  in  making  arrests  are  often  obliged  to 
take  life,  and  that  under  all  circumstances  and  in  all 
situations  the  safety  of  the  people  is  the  first  law, 
although  it  is  written  in  no  statute-book. 

But  while  justifying  the  executions  of  Bosler  and 
Kittle,  Moultrie  did  not  attempt  to  gloss  over  his  own 
share  in  the  transaction.  He  admitted  that  the  desire  to 
punish  Bosler  for  the  acts  against  him  that  he  had  com- 


DOUBTS   ARE  DISSIPATED.  119 

mitted  was  the  determining  cause  of  his  participation  in 
the  proceeding.  With  the  hanging  of  Kittle,  however, 
he  had  had  nothing  to  do,  as  he  had  turned  over  the 
command  of  the  committee  and  the  functions  of  judge 
before  that  individual  was  brought  to  trial.  It  was  a 
wrong  motive  in  him,  and  he  could  only  plead  his 
humanity  in  extenuation.  Had  it  been  the  only  incen- 
tive, he  would,  he  declared,  long  ago  have  demanded  a 
trial  ;  but  he  was  conscious  that  he  had  been  to  a  great 
extent  actuated  by  a  regard  for  the  public  welfare,  and 
in  conducting  the  proceedings  against  Bosler  he  had  stu- 
diously refrained  from  intruding  his  own  private  griefs  and 
wrongs  upon  the  committee.  The  wretch  had  been  tried 
solely  for  the  murder  of  a  man  named  Hallam,  whom  he 
had  killed  wantonly,  for  the  mere  amusement  of  com- 
mitting murder,  and  for  that  crime  he  was  executed. 
Mankind,  he  pointed  out  to  her,  would  not  regard  his 
motives  as  unworthy  a  man  of  honor.  The  destroyer  of 
the  peace  of  a  household,  such  as  was  Bosler,  can  find  no 
refuge  among  civilized  mankind  from  the  vengeance  of 
those  who  have  suffered  at  his  hands.  If  he  had  met  Bos- 
ler after  becoming  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  he  was 
the  abductor  of  his  child,  the  cause  of  his  wife's  mental 
derangement  and  death,  and  of  his  suffering  during 
seventeen  years — if  he  had  encountered  this  man  in  the 
streets  of  any  city  in  the  United  States,  with  the  memory 
of  his  wrongs  strong  in  his  heart,  and  had  shot  him  down 
like  a  dog,  no  jury  could  have  been  found  to  convict 
him.  All  this,  however,  did  not  make  his  conduct  right 
in  his  own  sight,  and  »ever  since  he  had  not  ceased  to  re- 
proach himself  for  his  agency  in  the  affair.  He  had  had 
his  punishment — was  still  receiving  it,  in  fact,  and  he  ad- 
mitted the  justice  with  which  it  was  meted  out  to  him. 


120  A   STBONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Time,"  lie  said,  "  may  soften  the  infliction,  but  prob- 
ably will  never  altogether  remove  from  my  mind  the 
consciousness  that  I  did  a  sinful  act. 

"  And  yet,  dear,"  he  continued,  as  Lai  raised  his 
hand  to  her  face  wet  with  tears,  "  I  am  not  morbid  over 
the  matter.  I  have  so  much  to  make  me  happy,  that 
continual  sorrow  would  be  impossible,  I  think.  But 
every  now  and  then  the  pang  comes.  It  is  instantaneous. 
It  goes  as  quickly  as  it  strikes,  but  while  it  is  there  it 
is  severe.  And  thus  I  am  reminded  that  in  taking  upon 
myself  the  office  of  an  avenger  I  violated  that  mandate 
of  God,  '  Vengeance  is  mine — I  will  repay  !  '  " 

"  No,  no,"  cried  Lai,  as  she  put  her  arms  around  his 
neck  and  drew  his  head  to  her  breast  ;  "  don't  say  that 
to  me.  Don't  you  remember  how  he  sold  me  to  Luke 
Kittle,  and  tied  me  with  ropes  and  straps  like  a  sheep  as 
is  sold  to  the  butcher  ?  Whar  would  1  a'  bin  now  ef  it 
hadn't  bin  for  you  and  the  others  as  was  agin  him  ?  Oh, 
father,"  she  continued,  in  an  agony  of  grief,  and  tears, 
and  sobs  that  almost  choked  her  utterance,  "  my 
darlin',  ef  I  thought  as  you  war  goin'  to  feel  like  that 
all  your  life,  I'd  never  smile  agin — oh,  no,  never  agin  !" 

It  was  sweet  to  him,  this  tempest  of  emotion,  that 
rose  like  a  mountain  torrent  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  sweep- 
ing everything  before  it  in  its  resistless  course.  Her 
tears  were  sweet,  her  sobs  were  music  to  his  ears,  but 
dearer  than  all  were  the  words  that  welled  up  from  her 
heart  and  rushed  forth  in  the  homely  dialect  of  her 
childhood.  Yes,  if  anything  in  all  the  world  could 
banish  his  remorse,  it  would  be  the  love  of  this  dear 
child,  whom  he  had  rescued  from  a  fate  worse  than  death. 
Once  more  he  pressed  her  to  his  heart. 

"  I'd  a'  killed  him  myself  onst,"  continued  Lai,  "  ef 


DOUBTS   AKE   DISSIPATED.  121 

I'd  had  a  knife.  Oh,  I  was  mighty  fierce  then,  I  tell 
you  ;  and  when  he  was  a- try  in'  to  put  them  cords  and 
straps  around  me  his  life  warn't  worth  a  cent  to  me  ! 
And  now  you're  goin'  to  make  yourself  miserable  all 
your  life  for  him  as  would  a-done  them  things  to  me  ! 
1  jist  can't  stand  it.  I'd  rather  die.  Oh,  yes,  I'd  rather 
die  right  now  !  And  all  on  account  of  a  man  as  stole  me 
and  killed  my  mother  !" 

"  My  dear  child,"  he  said  at  last,  "  every  word  you 
say  is  inexpressibly  sweet  to  me.  1  think  if  I  had  told 
you  all  at  the  very  first  you  would  have  done  much  to 
lessen  the  regret  I  experienced,  and  to  prevent  its  taking 
so  firm  a  hold  of  me.  I  think  I  can  promise  you  that  it 
will  not  trouble  me  much  henceforth.  "What  argument 
and  reason  could  never  have  done  the  outpouring  of  your 
sympathy  and  love  will  scarcely  fail  to  accomplish. 
Come  !  dry  your  pretty  eyes,"  he  continued,  with  a 
smile,  "  and  get  back  into  a  civilized  form  of  speech. 
Do  you  know  that  for  the  last  five  minutes  you  have  been 
talking  like  a  '  Wild  Girl  of  the  West,'  or  '  a  Prairie 
Rose, '  as  Tyscovus  calls  you  ?' ' 

The  sunshine  of  her  smile  came  out  again,  as  with  her 
arm  in  his  she  went  into  the  drawing-room. 

That  night  Theodora  wrote  her  acceptance  of  the  two 
appointments  that  had  been  tendered  her. 


CHAPTEE  TIL 

AN    ELECTION   AND   ITS   RESULT. 

THE  election  was  over.  Each  of  tlie  three  parties  had 
exhausted  all  its  devices  for  reaching  the  sophisticated 
and  the  unsophisticated  voter,  according  to  his  kind  ; 
but  the  two  opponents  of  Moultrie  had  felt  all  day  that 
the  chances  for  either  of  them  were  slim.  The  publica- 
tion of  the  fact  that  he  had  headed  a  vigilance  committee 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  ridding  Colorado  of  a  set  of 
desperadoes  that  had  for  many  years  disturbed  the  peace 
of  the  Territory  and  had  defied  the  law  had  aided  him 
greatly,  very  much  to  the  disgust  of  Miss  Billy  Bremen 
and  her  coadjutors.  Men  reasoned  that  he  had  shown 
his  readiness  to  accept  the  most  weighty  responsibilities, 
and  to  do  his  utmost  while  they  were  on  his  shoulders 
to  carry  them  through  to  a  successful  termination.  No 
quality  appeals  more  strongly  to  the  heart  of  the  average 
man  than  courage,  especially  that  moral  species  of  the 
faculty  that  causes  the  possessor  to  stand  up  and  face  the 
consequences  of  his  acts. 

The  poll  had  been  a  large  one,  and  according  to  the 
returns  received  at  Moultrie's  headquarters,  his  vote  was 
greatly  in  excess  of  that  given  to  either  of  his  opponents. 
Still,  although  all  reports  were  of  an  encouraging  nature, 
nothing  definite  could  of  course  be  known  till  the  count- 
ing of  the  ballots  was  finished.  He  had  not  visited 
the  polling-places  during  the  day,  notwithstanding  the 


AN   ELECTION  AND   ITS   KESTJLT.  123 

fact  that  his  u  committee"  thought  it  would  be  advisable 
for  him  to  show  himself  to  his  adherents,  if  only  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  up  their  spirits.  He  had  invited  the 
Hon.  Tom  Burton  to  dine  with  him,  and  had  asked  two 
other  personal  friends  to  meet  him.  The  gentlemen 
were  in  the  library  after  dinner  smoking  their  cigars  and 
awaiting,  without  much  apprehension  as  to  the  result,  the 
reception  of  the  semi-official  returns.  It  was  now 
eight  o'clock,  and  they  could  not  be  much  longer  de- 
layed. 

"  I  shouldn't  be  at  all  surprised,"  said  Mr.  Burton,  as 
he  shook  the  ashes  from  his  cigar  into  a  little  silver  dish 
that  stood  on  the  table  by  his  side,  "  if  you  had  a  plu- 
rality of  three  thousand  over  O'  Leary.  I  suppose  there 
is  no  doubt  that  he  will  lead  Jackson." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  Mr.  Braden,  a  prom- 
inent lawyer,  who  had  taken  great  interest  in  Moultrie's 
canvass.  "  Jackson  has  great  strength  among  the  Ger- 
mans and  among  a  certain  class  of  manufacturers  who 
do  not  know  what  is  good  for  them.  I  think  it  will  be 
close  between  them  ;  but  I  am  quite  certain  that  Jack- 
son will  poll  more  votes  than  O'Leary." 

"  Burton  is  right,  I  think,"  observed  Judge  Miller,  a 
portly  gentleman  about  fifty  years  of  age,  who  spoke 
with  great  deliberation,  as  though  he  were  weighing 
every  word  that  escaped  from  his  lips.  "  Of  course  it 
would  not  do  for  a  member  of  the  judiciary  to  take  an 
active  part  in  an  election.  At  least,  that  has  always  been 
my  idea.  But  in  a  quiet  way  I  have  been  an  observant 
spectator,  and  I  am  very  certain  that  O'Leary  will  poll  a 
much  larger  vote  than  Jackson.  He  has,  in  the  first 
place,  as  you  know,  the  '  indorsement,'  as  it  is  called,  of 
Tuscarora  Hall,  and  that  has  gone  far  to  add  to  his 


124  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

strength.  He  will  get  a  good  portion  of  the  German 
and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Irish  vote." 

"  Yes,  that  is  so  !"  exclaimed  Burton  ;  "  but  did  you 
hear  how  every  Italian  vote  in  the  district  was  secured 
for  our  friend  here  ?  I  don't  believe  he  knows.  But, 
as  it's  over  now,  I  suppose  I  may  as  well  tell  him." 

u  I  hope,"  said  Moultrie,  gravely,  "  that  no  mislead- 
ing representations  were  made  to  them. ' ' 

"  Oh,  no,"  answered  Burton,  laughing  ;  "  it  was  not 
so  bad  as  that ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  shows  how  easily 
votes  can  sometimes  be  obtained.  I  think  I  shall  have 
to  tell,  if  only  to  show  that  fact,  as  well  as  to  let  you 
know  how  readily  some  of  these  foreigners  learn  the  art 
of  manipulating  their  people. 

"  Well,"  he  continued,  as  a  general  assent  was  given, 
"  since  I've  been  here  in  New  York  I've  occasionally 
taken  my  meals  at  FiescolL's  restaurant,  for  I'm  rather 
partial  to  Italian  cookery.  About  a  week  ago,  as  I  was 
eating  a  dish  of  maccaroni,  as  only  Fiescoli  can  cook  it, 
I  called  him  to  me,  and  complimented  him  on  its  excel- 
lence. He  was  greatly  delighted  with  my  praises,  and 
seeing  that  his  heart  was  open  to  the  reception  of  grand 
ideas  and  sound  political  truth,  I  asked  him  how  he  was 
going  to  vote.  Without  any  hesitation  he  informed  me 
that  he  should  vote  for  Jackson,  mainly,  however,  as 
he  said,  because  all  the  Irish  were  going  to  vote  for 
O'Leary,  and  because  some  one  had  told  him — some 
emissary  of  Jackson's,  as  1  afterward  learned — that  Moul- 
trie was  a  Frenchman.  Now,  Fiescoli  hates  the  French 
almost  as  bad  as  he  does  the  Irish,  so  that  he  naturally 
went  in  for  Jackson. 

"  1  soon  disabused  his  mind  of  the  idea  that  you  were 
anything  else  than  an  American  of  over  two  hundred 


AN  ELECTION   AND   ITS   RESULT.  125 

years'  existence  in  the  country,  and  then  I  tackled  him 
on  the  tariff.  '  How  much  does  your  maccaroni  cost  you 
a  box  ? '  I  inquired. 

"  (  Four  dollars,'  he  answered,  with  a  groan. 

"  '  And  what  is  it  worth  in  Naples  ? ' 

"  '  Less  than  two  dollars,'  he  replied,  with  a  sigh  that 
seemed  like  the  distant  rumbling  of  Mount  Vesuvius. 

"  '  Well,  my  friend,'  I  said,  though  with  some  diffi- 
culty, for  1  had  just  put  a  mess  as  big  as  a  teacup  into 
rny  mouth,  and  was  adjusting  it  to  its  new  situation,  '  the 
difference  goes  into  the  pockets  of  the  "  Sweetwater 
Maccaroni  Manufacturing  Company,"  who,  you  will 
doubtless  admit,  make  a  devilish  bad  article. ' 

"  l  I  should  think  so  !'  he  exclaimed  in  his  picturesque" 
— the  Hon.  Tom  was  not  always  precise  in  his  use  of 
adjectives — "  English  ;  '  I  wouldn't  presume  to  set  it 
before  you.  You  wouldn't  eat  it,  though  I  have  been 
told  that  that  rascal  Mali  gives  it  to  his  customers  be- 
cause it  costs  a  few  cents  less  on  the  box.' 

"  i  You'd  like  to  get  your  maccaroni  fresh  from 
Naples,  wouldn't  you,  and  just  as  cheap  as  you  could 
there,  with  the  little  addition  of  the  freight  ?  ' 

"  '  Of  course  I  would.  1  have  a  cousin  who  makes 
it.  I'd  buy  more,  and  I'd  sell  more,  for  1  could  sell  it 
cheaper. ' 

u  '  My  friend  ! '  I  exclaimed,  jumping  up,  '"  give  me 
your  hand  !  You  are  a  political  economist  of  the  first 
water.  Now,  Mr.  Moultrie  is  in  favor  of  letting  in  all 
the  maccaroni  Naples  can  make  free  of  duty.  He's  the 
man  for  you.  Don't  you  see  ? ' 

i  i  "Well,  to  cut  the  story  short,  1  not  only  secured  his 
vote,  but  I  arranged  a  meeting  of  Italians  to  take  place 
in  his  restaurant.  About  fifty  of  the  prominent  mem- 


126  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

bers  of  the  colony  attended.  I  ascertained  first  that  there 
were  at  least  three  hundred  Italian  voters  in  the  district. 
Not  many,  perhaps,  but  every  vote  counts  in  an  election. 
I  ordered  a  supper  of  maccaroni,  ravioli,  frittura,  olives, 
and  other  Italian  dishes,  with  plenty  of  Yino  di  Capri 
and  Montepulciano  to  drink,  and  with  the  cry  of  c  Free 
maccaroni !  '  1  sent  my  disciples  out  into  the  wilderness  ; 
and  the  consequence  was  that  every  Italian  vote  was  cast 
for  Moultrie." 

u  And  the  further  consequence  will  be,"  said  Mr. 
Braden,  laughing,  "  that  when  they  find  that  they 
won't  get  their  maccaroni  any  cheaper  next  year  than 
they  do  this,  they  will  visit  their  indignation  on  Moul- 
trie." 

"  Oh,  well,"  exclaimed  Burton,  u  c  after  me  the  del- 
uge ! '  Still,  it  was  all  fair  ;  I  did  not  misrepresent  Moul- 
trie,  for  he  is  in  favor  of  free  maccaroni." 

"  So  I  am,  or,  at  least,  very  nearly  so, ' '  said  Moultrie  ; 
"  but  I  am  afraid  you  misled  them  in  regard  to  my  power 
to  make  the  change.  You  ought  to  have  been  more  exact 
on  that  point." 

"  Oh,  they'll  find  that  out  soon  enough,  I  promise 
you !  Then  you  can  write  a  letter  to  them  that  will 
quiet  them  till  the  next  election  comes  round." 

Just  then  a  servant  entered  with  a  telegram,  which  he 
handed  on  a  salver  to  Moultrie. 

"The  first  returns,"  he  said,  as  he  opened  the  en- 
velope. "  Yes,"  reading  the  communication,  "  '  Six  pre- 
cincts give  Moultrie  2275,  O'Leary  1250,  and  Jackson 
1021.'" 

"  Hurrah  !"  exclaimed  Burton,  rising  in  his  excite- 
ment and  swinging  his  handkerchief.  "  By  George  ! 
you'll  beat  'them  both  together.  You'll  get  returns 


AN  ELECTION   AND   ITS   RESULT.  127 

pretty  rapidly  now,  and  in  half  an  hour  we'll  know 
who's  elected." 

"  May  we  come  in  ?"  said  Theodora,  holding  aside  the 
heavy  portiere,  and  revealing  herself  and  Lai  standing  in 
the  doorway.  "  We're  ever  so  anxious  to  hear  the  news, 
and  we  don't  mind  the  smoke  a  bit." 

Every  gentleman  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  and  the 
cigars  were  dropped. 

"  Of  course  you  may,"  said  Moultrie,  laughing, »"  pro- 
vided you'll  promise  not  to  cry  if  I'm  defeated." 

"  Oh,  we'll  promise  anything  ;  but  we  won't  come  un- 
less you  will  go  on  with  your  smoking." 

"  You've  been  well  brought  up,  Mrs.  Moultrie,"  said 
Burton,  and  amid  the  general  expression  of  the  pleasure 
their  company  would  give,  the  two  ladies  entered  the 
room,  and  were  escorted  to  chairs  by  Mr.  Burton  and 
Judge  Miller.  They  had  hardly  got  seated  before 
another  communication  was  brought  in. 

"  '  Eighteen  precincts,'5  said  Moultrie,  reading, 
"'give  Moultrie  4280,  O'Leary  2830,  and  Jackson 
1450.'  " 

"  Jackson  is  running  behind,  as  I  said  he  would,"  ex- 
claimed Burton  ;  "  but  by  the  immortal  shade  of  Sam 
Houston,  what  a  magnificent  vote  you're  polling,  Moul- 
trie !  Madam,"  turning  to  Theodora,  "  I  am  almost 
ready  to  congratulate  you.  How  many  precincts  are 
there  in  this  district,  Judge  ?" 

"About  thirty,  I  think,"  answered  that  gentleman; 
"  but  the  heaviest  are  to  come  in  yet.  Still,  1  don't  see 
how  any  other  than  the  result  we  desire  can  be  obtained. " 

All  through  the  dinner  Burton  had  been  so  enraptured 
with  Lai's  appearance  that  he  could  not  keep  his  eyes  off 
of  her,  and  she  was  more  than  sufficient  to  banish  all 


128  A  STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

recollection  of  Rachel  Meadows  from  the  susceptible 
Texan's  heart.  He  was  one  of  those  men  who  are  taken 
with  every  pretty  face  they  see,  and  whose  constancy  in 
matters  of  the  affections  is,  up  to  a  certain  point,  no 
more  to  be  relied  upon  than  that  of  the  direction  of  the 
wind. 

-  "  In  all  my  life,"  said  he  to  himself,  as  he  stole  a 
furtive  glance  at  her,  "  I  never  saw  such  a  beauty.  She's 
the  sort  of  a  woman  a  man  goes  through  fire  and  water 
for  if  necessary.  I  wish  she'd  ask  me  to  do  something 
for  her.  If  she'd  drop  her  glove  into  a  den  of  wild 
beasts,  I'd  get  it  for  her  devilish  quick,  and  I  wouldn't 
throw  it  in  her  face,  either,  as  did  that  blackguard  De 
Longe. 

"  '  And  she  thought  the  count  my  lover  is  as  brave  as  brave  can  be. 
He  surely  would  do  desperate  things  to  show  his  love  for  me.' 

If  the  house  now  would  only  catch  fire  or  a  burglar  make 
his  appearance  just  behind  her  chair,  I'd  show  her  what 
a  Texan  gentleman  would  do." 

"  You  Southerners  take  more  interest  in  politics  that 
we  Northerners  do,"  said  Theodora,  addressing  Bur- 
ton. 

"  Yes,  madam,  even  yet  ;  but  you  Northerners  have 
done  about  the  best  you  could  to  destroy  the  breed  of 
Southern  gentlemen  as  it  was  before  the  war.  But  I 
thought  you  were  Southern. ' ' 

"  So  I  am  ;  I'm  a  Virginian  ;  but  a  woman  goes  with 
her  husband,  you  know." 

"  Not  always,"  he  answered,  laughing  ;  "  I  can  call 
to  mind  many  instances  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
in  which  the  husband  went  with  the  wife,  and  she  hur- 
ried back  to  her  plantation  as  soon  as  she  could." 


AN   ELECTION   AND   ITS   RESULT.  129 

He  waited  a  moment  to  see  if  Theodora  had  any  inten- 
tion of  continuing  the  conversation.  Then,  as  she  said 
something  to  Judge  Miller,  he  turned  to  Lai : 

"  Do  you  take  much  interest  in  politics,  Miss  Moul- 
trie?" 

"  Only  this  time,"  she  answered,  with  a  smile  that 
sent  Burton  into  the  realms  of  bliss,  "  and — and  one 
other,"  with  a  little  hesitation,  and  a  blush  that  made 
her  look  still  lovelier. 

"  That's  the  Polish  count,"  thought  Burton.  "  He's 
running  for  delegate  to  Congress  from  some  western 
Territory.  A  Polish  count  to  get  that  angel !  My 
God  !  what  are  we  coming  to  !  I've  seen  three  Polish 
counts  in  my  day — one  was  a  barber,  one  a  runner  for  a 
steamboat,  and  the  third  tried  to  pick  my  pocket,  and 
got  knocked  down  and  sent  to  Blackwell's  Island  for  his 
pains.  He  was  the  most  enterprising  of  the  lot,  but  not 
altogether  a  desirable  acquaintance.  I  wonder  if  this 
one  is  any  better  !  Oh,  he  must  be  !  Moultrie  is  too 
sensible  and  the  girl,  too,  to  allow  any  frauds  about. 
1'  11  draw  her  out  a  little. 

"  And  the  other  is —  ?"  he  said,  interrogatively. 

Without  the  least  hesitation  Lai  answered,  "  The 
other  is  Mr.  Tyscovus  of  Colorado.  He  is  a  Polish 
gentleman.  My  mother  was  a  Pole. " 

"  Ah  !  that,"  he  said,  with  feigned  ignorance,  "  ac- 
counts for  your  interest  in  him.  Foreigners  are  getting 
all  the  best  places  now,"  and,  he  added  to  himself,  "  all 
the  pretty  girls,  too." 

"  He  is  half  an  American.  His  mother  was  a  New 
Yorker." 

"  And  you  are  half  Polish.     Delightful  !" 

"  Yes,  it  is  very  nice,"  said  Lai,  simply. 


130  A   STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

"  All,  there's  another  report  !"  said  Mr.  Braden,  as 
the  man  entered  with  the  salver  and  the  despatch. 

Moultrie  handed  it  to  Theodora.  "  Read  it,  my 
dear,"  he  said,  and  then,  in  a  low  voice  to  her,  "if  it 
contains  good  news  it  will  be  all  the  more  welcome  from 
you." 

She  smiled  lovingly  on  him  as  she  opened  the  en- 
velope. 

"  (  Twenty-five  precincts, '  "  she  read,  "  t  give  Moultrie 
7930*,  O'Leary  4200,  and  Jackson  3482.  Seven  more 
precincts  to  be  heard  from.  Moultrie  certainly  elected 
by  a  majority  over  both  the  other  candidates.' ' 

"  Hurrah  !  Hurrah  !  Hurrah  !"  cried  Burton, 
springing  to  his  feet  and  waving  his  handkerchief. 
"  What  did  1  tell  you  ?  I'll  have  to  stay  in  New  York 
to  teach  you  fellows  politics. ' ' 

Theodora  had  already  given  her  hand  to  Moultrie ; 
Lai  was  the  next  to  congratulate  him,  and  then  the  gen- 
tlemen followed,  Burton  being  the  most  enthusiastic. 
Then  he  shook  hands  with  Theodora  and  with  Lai, 
actuated  probably  in  this  latter  instance  more  by  a  desire 
to  get  her  little  hand  in  his  than  by  any  other  motive. 

"Miss  Moultrie,"  he  said,  "I  hope  that  'other' 
will  have  as  fortunate  a  termination  as  this." 

"  I  do  not  know,"  she  answered  ;  "  it  is  very  doubtful. 
The  election  took  place  to-day,  but  I  do  not  expect  to 
hear  before  to-morrow. " 

"Well,  'a  happy  issue  out  of  all  your  afflictions,' 
as  the  Bible  says. ' ' 

"  That  is  not  in  the  Bible,  Mr.  Burton.  That  is  in 
the  Prayer-book." 

"  Oh,  yes,  to  be  sure  !  I  knew  I  had  seen  it  in  some 
familiar  place. " 


AN   ELECTION   AND   ITS   RESULT.  131 

Theodora  had  rung  the  bell,  and  "'Joey"  was  entering 
with  champagne  in  silver  coolers.  "  I  had  this  pre- 
pared," she  said,  "  for  1  felt  sure  you  would  succeed." 

"  Happy  the  woman  who  has  confidence  in  her  hus- 
band !"  exclaimed  Burton.  "  Now,  Mistress  Moultrie, 
if  you'll  be  kind  enough  to  send  that  man  away  and 
allow  me  to  act  as  Ganymede  to  our  Jupiter  and  the 
other  gods  and  goddesses,  you  will  do  me  a  great  favor." 
Then,  without  waiting  for  an  answer,  he  took  the  bottle 
from  the  man,  and  the  wires  being  already  removed,  cut 
the  strings  that  held  the  cork,  and  in  true  Southern  style 
allowed  the  bottle  to  pop.  "  Now,  ladies  and  gentle- 
men," he  continued,  "  your  glasses,  please.  My  friend," 
sotto  voce  to  "  Joey,"  who  was  lingering  with  the 
other  bottle,  "  won't  you  be  kind  enough  to  get  out  of 
the  way  ?"  "  Joey"  looked  indignant,  but  at  a  sign 
from  his  mistress  disappeared. 

The   Hon.    Tom    Burton   was  now   in  his    element. 
He  had    already   distributed    glasses    all    around,  and    / 
was  engaged  in  filling  them  with  the  foaming  liquor.    I 
"  '  Yeuve  Clicquot,  etiquette  jaune,'    as    I'm  a  living 
sinner  !     The  only  champagne  fit   for  a  gentleman  to 
drink."     All  this  to  himself.     "  Now,"  he   continued, 
addressing  the  whole  party,  "  here's  to  the  health  of  the 
Hon.    Geoffrey   Moultrie,    Member   of    Congress   elect 
from  the  city  of  New  York.     May  he  live  a  thousand 
years,  and  may  we  all  be  at  his  funeral  !" 

u  What  a  horrid  man  !"  said  Lai  to  Theodora,  after 
the  toast  had  been  drunk  and  the  congratulations  re- 
newed. "  I  do  not  like  him  at  all." 

"  A  little  effusive,  my  dear,  but  yet  very  sincere,  I 
think,  and  quite  funny  sometimes." 

"  A  final  telegram,"   said  Moultrie,  at  the  end  of  a 


132  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

few  words  of  thanks,  and  as  the  missive  was  handed  to 
him.  "  I  suppose  this  will  give  us  the  total  result. 
Yes,  here  it  is  : 

"  '  All  the  precincts  in.  Moultrie,  10,115  ;  O'Leary, 
5610  ;  Jackson,  4002.  Three  cheers  for  Moultrie  ! 
Good-night.'" 

"  So  your  plurality  over  O'Leary  is  4505,"  said  Bur- 
ton, who,  with  paper  and  pencil,  had  already  made  the 
calculation,  "  and  your  majority  over  both  him  and 
Jackson  503.  If  it  had  not  been  for  my  Italians,  it  would 
only  have  been  200.  Come,  gentlemen, ' '  to  the  Judge 
and  Mr.  Braden,  "  won't  you  accompany  me  to  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Hotel,  where  we  shall  learn  something  from 
the  rest  of  the  country  ?  The  whole  political  interest  of 
the  campaign  is  not  concentrated  in  this  room." 

He  stayed  a  few  minutes  longer,  mainly  apparently 
for  the  purpose  of  finishing  the  second  bottle  of  ( '  Veuve 
Clicquot,  etiquette  jaune,"  and  then  he  and  the  other 
two  gentlemen  took  their  departure. 

Moultrie  followed  them  out  into  the  hall.  "  I  owe  a 
good  deal  to  you,  Burton,"  he  said,  shaking  his  hand 
again.  "  You're  the  best  political  manager  I  ever  saw, 
though  I  think  that  perhaps  you  went  a  little  too  far 
with  the  Italians." 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  the  other,  looking  very  much 
pleased  at  the  expression  of  Moultrie' s  opinion  ;  "  but 
you  can  make  it  all  right  by  giving  them  a  reception  at 
Fiescoli's,  and  asking  them  to  bring  their  wives  and 
children.  As  to  my  services,  I  am  delighted  to  hear  you 
say  what  you  do.  Now,"  he  added,  in  a  lower  tone, 
"  if  you  have  any  influence  with  the  Administration — 
and  doubtless  you  will  be  high  in  favor  there — and  you 
think  I'm  fit  for  it,  get  me  the  consulship  to  Barcelona. 


AN  ELECTION  AND  ITS   RESULT.  133 

I'm  interested  in  Spanish  art  and  history,  and,  by 
George  !  I  want  an  office  of  some  kind.  I  think  the 
desire  for  office  was  born  in  me,  and  I've  been  out  in  the 
cold  now  a  long  time.' ' 

"  I'm  quite  sure  of  your  competency,  but  I  am  afraid 
you  overestimate  my  influence.  Certainly,  however,  I 
will  do  what  I  can,  and  with  great  pleasure." 

"  I  speak  Spanish  as  well  as  I  do  English,  "  continued 
Burton.  "  How  many  consuls,  or  even  ministers,  can 
speak  the  language  of  the  country  they  go  to  ?  Not  one 
in  a  hundred." 

"  That  is  true,"  relied  Moultrie,  laughing.  "  Many 
of  them  can't  even  speak  their  own  language  prop- 
erly." 

Hardly  had  Moultrie  returned  to  the  library,  after 
seeing  the  gentlemen  out  of  the  house,  than  another  tele- 
gram was  brought  to  him.  He  looked  at  it,  and  then 
handed  it  to  Lai.  "  This  is  for  you,  my  dear,"  he  said. 
"  It  is  probably  from  Tyscovus." 

She  took  it,  and  with  hands  that  trembled  a  little 
opened  the  envelope.  A  gleam  of  pleasure  at  once  ap- 
peared on  her  face,  and  deepened  as  she  read. 

"Oh,  father,"  she  exclaimed,  "he  is  coming!  He 
will  be  here  in  less  than  three  weeks,  and  he  is  elected." 

"  Read  it  aloud,  Lai,  dear." 

"  It  is  very  short,  only  a  few  words  : 

u  '  HELLBENDER,  COLORADO,  ) 
November  5,  1874.        ) 

"  i  To  Miss  LALAGE  MOULTRIE,  No. —  FIFTH  AVENUE, 
NEW  YORK  : 

"  '  Returns  not  all  in,  but  enough  received  to  make  it 
certain  that  I  am  elected  delegate  by  over  1500  majority. 


134  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Will  be  in  New  York  on  or  before  the  25tli  inst.     Write 
to  me  at  Planter's  House,  St.  Louis. 

"  '  JOHN  TYSCOVUS.'  " 

"  We  are  in  luck  to-night,"  said  Theodora.  "  Every- 
thing seems  to  go  well  with  us.  This  only  was  want- 
ing to  make  our  happiness  complete." 

"  He  will  make  his  mark  in  Congress,  my  dear,  even 
though  he  has  only  the  right  to  speak,  without  that  of 
voting,"  said  Moultrie  to  Lalage,  who  stood  by  his  side, 
with  her  hands  resting  on  his  arm.  "  Indeed,  his  whole 
career  in  this  country  has  been  somewhat  remarkable." 

"  And  before  he  came  here  it  was  still  more  so.  1  did 
not  know  it  all  when  I  left  him  on  the  butte,  or  I  really 
think  I  could  not  have  come  away.  But  he  wrote  me  a 
long  letter  once — oh,  a  very  long  letter  ! — many  sheets 
of  paper — and  he  told  me  his  whole  life." 

"  He  has  exhibited  the  most  wonderful  perseverance 
and  courage,  and  suffered  greatly.  Now,  however,  my 
dear  child,  he  has,  so  far  as  we  can  perceive,  only  hap- 
piness to  look  forward  to.  But  I  see  you  want  to  think 
over  your  telegram  and  its  possibilities,"  he  added, 
smiling,  "  so  good-night,  dear,  and  don't  sit  up  so  late 
as  to  spoil  your  eyes." 

She  smiled  sweetly  as  she  kissed  them  both  good-night. 
"  I  am  very  happy  to-night/'  she  said — "  oh,  yes,  very 
happy  !" 

She  went  to  her  own  room,  and  began  her  prepara- 
tions for  going  to  bed.  First  she  sent  her  maid  away, 
for  this  was  a  night  on  which  she  wished  to  be  alone. 
She  stood  in  front  of  the  mirror  of  her  dressing-table, 
arranging  her  hair  for  the  night.  Perhaps  she  did  not 
see  what  everybody  else  perceived,  that  she  was  wonder- 


AN   ELECTION   AND   ITS   RESULT.  135 

fully  beautiful.  She  was  not  heavenly  or  angelic,  or  in 
any  way  supernatural,  as  are  some  of  the  women  one 
hears  described.  She  was  only  a  human  woman,  but  one 
of  the  loveliest  specimens  of  the  creation  that  ever  walked 
the  earth.  Yes,  she  must  have  known  that  she  was 
beautiful,  for  as  her  arms  were  raised  above  her  head, 
and  her  hair  fell  in  its  raven-hued  masses  over  her  neck 
and  shoulders,  far  below  her  waist,  she  smiled  and  whis- 
pered softly  to  herself,  "  I  think  he  will  love  me  more 
than  ever  now.  1  think  he  will  like  to  see  me."  She 
finished  what  she  had  to  do,  and  then  putting  on  a 
wrapper  of  some  soft  material,  and  with  her  feet  encased 
in  little  velvet  slippers,  she  sat  down  by  a  square  table 
in  the  centre  of  the  room,  on  which  stood  a  carcel-lamp. 
Then  she  opened,  by  touching  a  spring,  a  little  antique 
iron  cabinet  that  was  on  the  table,  and  took  from  it  a 
small  book  bound  in  vellum.  The  cover  was  very  elab- 
orately gilt  in  a  diamond-shaped  pattern,  the  interstices 
being  occupied  by  fleurs-de-lis  in  gold.  She  opened 
the  book,  and  read  on  the  fly-leaf  :  "To  Lai,  from  her 
friend  John  Tyseovus.  The  Butte,  September  13th, 
1872."  Yes,  that  was  when  she  had  begun  to  love  him. 
Her  thoughts  went  back  to  that  day.  She  saw  herself 
on  the  floor  at  his  feet,  her  arms  clasped  around  his  knees 
in  an  agony  of  mingled  grief  and  joy.  She  saw  the  lov- 
ing look  in  his  eyes  as  he  raised  her  from  the  floor  ;  she 
recalled  the  strange,  new  feeling  of  rapture  and  bliss, 
tinged  with  fear,  that  had  swept  through  her  like  a  tem- 
pest, and  that  had  impelled  her  to  run  away  from  him 
before  he  could  say  a  word  more.  It  was  very  dear  to 
her,  this  little  vellum-bound  book,  for  it  marked  the 
boundary-line  between  her  two  lives.  It  was  the  em- 
blem of  her  renaissance  y  it  had  been  his.  She  pressed 


136  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

it  to  her  lips,  then  to  her  heart,  and  held  it  there  as 
though  it  were  the  form  of  him  she  loved.  For  she  was 
a  woman  almost  as  nature  had  made  her,  with  all  her 
fresh  young  feelings  springing  up  in  her  breast,  un- 
curbed by  any  prudish  ideas  that  it  was  wrong  to  exhibit 
emotion,  even  to  herself,  in  the  privacy  of  her  own 
chamber. 

"  Oh,  how  1  love  him  !"  she  said,  as  she  still  held  the 
book  close  to  her  heart.  She  seemed  to  lose  herself  in 
the  memories  of  the  past,  for  she  began  to  speak  in  the 
low,  soft,  melodious  voice  that  captivated  every  ear  that 
ever  heard  it,  and  in  that  rude  dialect  that,  when  she 
was  greatly  moved,  asserted  its  power. 

"  And  then  that  night — that  awful  night,  as  I  run  up 
the  butte  to  git  away  from  them  men  as  I  thought  was 
after  me.  I  was  awful  skeered,  and  I  wasn't  quite  sure 
as  he'd  keer  to  see  me  agin.  I  knowed  some  one  was 
after  me,  for  I  heard  the  stones  rollin'  down  the  butte. 
I  thought  as  how  I  mought  git  in  the  other  room  and 
stay  thar  till  mornin',  and  then  go  away  and  he  never 
know  as  I'd  bin  thar  at  all.  I  run  jist  about  as  hard  as 
I  could,  and  that  warn't  fast,  for  I  was  clean  near  broke 
down.  I  guess  ef  I'd  had  another  ten  yards  to  go,  I'd 
a'  giv  out ;  but  I  got  to  the  top,  and  thar  he  stood  right 
afore  me,  with  his  dear  arms  ready  for  me.  Oh,  yes,  for 
me  !  And  I  heerd  him  say,  '  Lai,  my  darlin'  !  '  and 
then  I  knowed  I  was  safe,  and  that  he  keered  for  me 
more'n  any  one  else  in  all  the  world. 

"  And  now  he's  comin'.  Oh,  my  love!  my  love  ! 
Onst  agin  you'll  call  me  '  Lai,'  and  I'll  see  you  and  talk 
to  you,  and — and — oh,  yes  !  and  kiss  you,  jist  as  I  did 
that  last  time  when  I  come  away,  and  left  you  all  alone 
on  the  butte,  and  me  with  my  heart  'most  broke." 


AN  ELECTION   AND   ITS   RESULT.  137 

She  had  not  seen  him  since  that  parting,  over  two 
years  ago.  It  had  been  arranged  that  he  should  visit  her 
twice' a  year ;  but  when  the  first  six  months  had  expired 
an  extra  session  of  the  Legislature  of  which  he  was  a 
member  had  been  called  on  account  of  Indian  disturb- 
ances, and  was  to  meet  in  a  few  days.  The  session  had 
lasted  over  a  month,  and  then  had  come  the  Navajo  war, 
in  which  he  had  taken  an  active  part,  and  then  the  nomi- 
nation as  delegate  to  Congress,  and  the  necessity  of  re- 
maining in  Colorado  to  look  after  interests  that  were  of 
vital  importance.  So  all  visits  had  been  omitted,  and 
his  final  appearance  to  claim  his  bride  had  been  delayed 
a  month  ;  but  at  last  he  was  coming  ! 

Every  night  since  she  had  left  him  she  had,  as  she  had 
promised  him  she  would,  read  a  little  from  the  book  he 
had  given  her,  and  which  she  now  held  in  her  hand. 
She  remembered  with  what  difficulty  she  had  been  able 
to  make  out  the  meaning  of  many  of  the  words  when 
she  had  first  attempted  its  perusal.  It  was  nearly  three 
hundred  years  old,  and  printed  in  type  that  was  strange 
to  her  inexperienced  eyes  ;  but  she  had  persevered,  and 
even  then  she  had  managed  to  read  and  understand  the 
words  of  wisdom  with  which  the  little  book  abounded. 
Now  she  knew  it  by  heart.  There  was  not  a  page  that 
was  not  familiar  to  her  ;  but  every  time  she  brought  the 
words  before  her  eyes  she  discovered  some  thought  that 
had  never  before  been  revealed  to  her. 

She  opened  the  book  and  began  to  read  ;  but  although 
it  was  easy  enough  for  her  now — for  she  had  read  almost 
•every  spare  moment  of  her  time  since  she  had  left  Colo- 
rado— the  thoughts  excited  by  the  knowledge  that  within 
twenty  days  at  farthest  she  would  see  the  man  she  loved, 
caused  her  mind  to  wander  somewhat  from  the  subject 


138  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

before  her.  Nevertheless,  she  persevered  bravely,  and 
had  stopped  to  think  of  what  she  had  just  read,  when  a 
light  knock  at  the  door  disturbed  her.  She  rose  and 
opened  it,  and  admitted  Theodora. 

"  I  left  your  father  in  the  library,"  she  said,  "  and  I 
thought  I  would  come  and  talk  with  you  a  few  minutes. 
He  has  a  great  many  letters  to  write,  and  some  other 
business  to  do  that  will  keep  him  up  late." 

"  You  shall  have  the  nicest  chair  in  the  room,"  said 
Lai,  pushing  up  one  in  front  of  the  fire  that  was  a  mass 
of  soft,  yielding  upholstery,  and  into  which  Theodora 
sank  with  an  air  of  fatigue.  "  Now,  put  your  feet  on 
the  fender  and  warm  them  well.  That  is  what  I  do 
every  night  before  I  go  to  bed."  She  replaced  her 
book  in  the  iron  cabinet,  and  drew  up  her  own  chair  in 
front  of  the  fire. 

"  Oh,  Lai  !"  said  Theodora,  after  sitting  a  few  mo- 
ments in  silence,  "  I  am  afraid  I  have  done  something 
very  wrong,  and  that  I  am  going  to  be  very  unhappy." 

Lai  looked  at  her  mother  in.  utter  astonishment.  She 
could  say  nothing,  for  she  had  no  idea  upon  which  to 
base  a  word  in  the  nature  of  a  reply.  She  could  only 
stare  fixedly,  waiting  in  eager  expectancy  for  some  ex- 
planation. 

"  I  ought  to  have  been  content  with  the  world  of 
happiness  that  I  had  here  in  my  own  household,  where 
every  wish  of  my  heart  is  law,  where  I  am  beloved,  and 
where  I  love  ;  but  I  was  not  satisfied  ;  my  mind  has  been 
trained  in  ways  that  caused  me  to  feel  that  there  was  a 
wider  domain  at  my  feet  than  that  of  my  own  home, 
and  one  in  which  I  could  not  only  gain  distinction,  but 
benefit  mankind.  Perhaps  in  time  this  would  have 
worn  out,  for  we  are  so  much  the  creatures  of  habit,  and 


AN   ELECTION   AND   ITS    RESULT.  139 

I  tried  my  utmost  to  crush  the  desires  that  had  gotten 
possession  of  me  ;  but  in  an  evil  hour  they  were  revived 
tenfold  by  an  offer  of  a  professorship  of  physiology  in  a 
medical  college  for  women.  I  would  not  have  taken  this 
place  if  your  father  had  advised  me  not  to  do  so,  but  he 
saw  what  my  wishes  were,  and  he  is  so  kind  and  gener- 
ous, and  he  loves  me  so  much,  that  he  would  interpose 
no  objection." 

"  But  he  was  willing  for  you  to  take  it,  was  he  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  he  was  willing." 

"  Then  that  is  enough,  I  think." 

"  No,  my  dear,  I  think  not.  Perhaps  you  do  not  un- 
derstand. He  was  willing  for  me  to  accept,  but  it 
was  only  because  he  thought  I  would  be  unhappy  if  he 
showed  the  least  lack  of  approval.  He  sacrificed  his  own 
wishes  in  order  that  mine  might  be  gratified." 

"Ah,  that  is  like  him  !" 

"  Yes,  it  is  like  him." 

"I  suppose,"  said  Lai,  with  great  earnestness,  "if 
you  were  to  go  to  him  now,  without  waiting  one  mo- 
ment, and  tell  him  that  you  had  thought  it  all  over,  and 
that  you  had  found  out  that  you  would  be  happier  at 
home  than  in  lecturing  in  a  medical  college,  and  that 
you  would  rather  give  your  mind  as  well  as  your  heart 
to  him,  and,"  she  added,  rising  from  her  chair  and  put- 
ting her  arms  around  Theodora's  neck,  "  to  me,  he 
would  be  very  glad,  would  he  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  dear,  1  am  sure  he  would  be  very  glad." 

"  Then  go  !  I  will  go  with  you — we  will  go  together. 
He  loves  us  better  than  he  does  all  the  rest  of  the  world. " 

"  But  I  have  accepted  the  professorship,  and  I  have 
an  answer  acknowledging  the  receipt  of  my  letter,  and 
stating  that  the  lectures  will  begin  week  after  next." 


140  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Can  you  not,  dear,  take  back  your  letter  ?" 

"No,  I  think  not." 

"  But  you  can  give  up  this  place.  What  do  you  care 
for  teaching  medicine  to  women  when  you  have  father 
and  me  to  look  after  ?  Besides,  if  you  are  busy  in  a 
medical  college  you  cannot  go  to  Washington  with  him 
this  winter." 

"  That  is  true,  and  he  wants  me  to  go  with  him.  He 
has  laid  all  his  plans  for  himself  and  me.  He  looks  for- 
ward with  delight  to  seeing  me  at  the  head  of  his  house, 
and  he  will  be  awfully  disappointed  if  I  do  not  go." 

"  Give  it  up,  dear — oh,  give  it  up  !"  cried  Lai. 

"  It  will  make  me  ridiculous  if  I  do.  People  will  say 
I  do  not  know  my  own  mind." 

"Let  them  say  what  they  please!  You  will  have 
him.  Better  be  ridiculous  than  make  him  and  yourself 
miserable." 

"  Yes,  yes!"  cried  Theodora,  bursting  into  tears. 
"  I  know  that — oh,  1  know  it  well!  But  then  I  have 
been  brought  up  in  such  a  way  that  these  things  have  a 
hold  on  me  that  I  cannot  shake  off.  Till  1  met  your 
father  I  thought  1  should  never  marry,  but  that  I  should 
give  my  whole  life  to  science  ;  and  then  he  came,  and  I 
loved  him,  and  for  a  time  I  thought  I  loved  him  more 
than  I  did  my  books  and  my  studies.  I  was  honest  in 
that,  God  knows  I  was  !  But  I  now  see  that  1  cannot 
shake  off  the  old  love,  do  what  I  may.  There  is  a  con- 
stant spirit  of  unrest  in  me  that  I  cannot  resist.  I  have 
tasted  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  and  I  must 
go  on  eating  it  all  my  life." 

"  I  do  not  think  I  understand,"  said  Lai,  very  slowly, 
and  as  though  speaking  to  herself.  u  You  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  you  love  all  these  things  about  such  matters 


AN   ELECTION   AND   ITS   KESULT.  141 

as  electricity  and  dead  animals  better  than  you  do  my 
father  and  your  husband  ?" 

"  I  don't  know.  I  love  him  with  all  my  heart ;  but, 
God  help  me  !"  she  added,  bitterly,  "  I  am  afraid  the 
heart  is  all  crushed  out  of  me.  I  ought  to  be  willing  to 
go  to  him,  as  you  say,  and  tell  him  that  my  world  is  in 
him,  but  1  cannot  do  it." 

"  I  am  very  sorry, "  said  Lai.    ' '  1  have  many  thoughts 
in  my  mind  that  1  cannot  speak,  for,  you  see,  I  do  not    / 
know  enough  yet  to  say  what  1  feel.     But  if  I  was  / 
John's  wife  I  should  think  that  I  could  not  be  anything  I 
else,  for  everything  that  took  me  away  from  him  woulcH 
make  me  just  that  much  less  his  wife.     I  should  think 
every  day  of  all  that  he  had  done  for  me,  and  I  should 
feel  that,  if  I  was  to  live  thousands  of  years,  I  could 
never  pay  him  back.     It  is  not  much  that  women  can 
do  for  men  but  love  them,  and  I  do  not  see  how  teach- 
ing all  these  things  in  a  college  is  going  to  make  father 
any  happier,  except  it  is  just  because  he  thinks  you  like 
it.     But  after  a  while  he  will  get  tired  of  that.     Here 
in  my  book — the  one  that  John  gave  me — I  read  that 
men  are  different  from  women  in  that  one  thing — that 
unless  women  try  to  keep  their  love  they  lose  it.     A 
woman  has  to  be  always  trying  to  keep  the  man  loving 
her.     That  is  what  I  read.     If  father  was  to  stop  loving 
you  it  would  be  very  bad,  would  it  not  V ' 

"  If  he  was  to  cease  loving  me  I  should  not  care  to 
live." 

"  Well,  that  is  what  it  will  come  to.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  that  book  that  is  not  true.  Not  one  single  word," 
she  added,  with  a  strong  emphasis  on  each  syllable.  "  I 
think  I  will  read  you  just  two  or  three  lines,  and  then 
you  will  see.  There  is  great  danger — oh,  yes,  very 


142  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

great  danger  !     But  this  will  show  you,  and  then  you 
will  know  what  to  do. ' ' 

She  opened  the  cabinet,  and  taking  out  the  book,  soon 
found  what  she  wanted,  and  read  as  follows  : 

"  c  Let  me  tell  you,  my  dear  child,  now  that  you  are 
about  to  marry  the  man  you  love,  that  however  much 
he  may  be  worthy  of  your  affection,  and  however  much 
he  may  adore  you,  that  man  is  by  nature  inconstant,  and 
that  Stephen  does  not  differ  from  others  of  his  sex  in 
that  respect,  whatever  he  may  say  to  you.  It  is  neces- 
sary that  you  should  always  be  on  the  alert,  ever  watch- 
ful in  order  to  keep  his  love  for  you  as  fresh  and  as  in- 
tense as  it  now  is.  If,  therefore,  in  the  years  to  come 
you  should  fail  to  exhibit  toward  him  the  same  tender- 
ness and  concentrated  devotion  that  you  feel  to-day, 
there  will  be  danger  that  the  warm  love  that  now  fills  his 
heart  may,  little  by  little,  grow  cold. ' ' 

"  Lai,  my  darling,  you  have  taught  me  something  to- 
night," exclaimed  Theodora — "  something  for  me  to 
think  over  !  Every  word  of  that  is  true,  and  I,  a  phys- 
iologist, as  I  have  called  myself,  have  never  known  it 
till  now!" 

"  Let  the  single  women  and  the  widows  give  the  lect- 
ures," laughed  Lai,  in  triumph  over  her  victory,  "if 
women  must  lecture  ;  but  for  us  who  are  married,  or 
going  to  be  very  soon,  there  are  better  things,  and  the 
best  of  them  is  keeping  the  love  of  our  husbands.  Oh,. 
I  was  sure  the  book  would  set  you  right !" 

"  Good-night,  dear.  You  are  Geoffrey's  child,  and 
you  are  my  friend.  Kiss  me,"  embracing  her  as  she 
spoke.  "  Now  go  to  bed,  for  I  have  kept  you  up  much 
later  than  is  usual  for  you." 

Oh,  I  have  to  write  to  John  yet,  and  then  1  must 


c< 


AN   ELECTION  AND   ITS   KESULT.  143 

copy  a  page  out  of  my  book  !  I  am  copying  it  all,  so 
that  he  will  see  how  much  1  think  of  it.  See  !  1  am 
now  at  the  three  hundred  and  tenth  page,  and  there  are 
only  nine  more  left.  It  will  all  be  done  by  the  time  he 
gets  here.  It  is  a  great  book  ;  it  saved  me,  and  now  1 
think  it  will  save  you." 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

THEODORA  DECIDES. 

ALTHOUGH  Rachel  Meadows  thought  it  due  to  her  dig- 
nity and  her  peace  of  mind  to  resign  from  the  executive 
committee  of  the  "  United  Women  of  America,"  she 
could  not,  upon  reflection,  find  that  she  was  yet  prepared 
to  altogether  abandon  the  movement  in  favor  of  the  ad- 
vancement of  women.  She  had  taken  great  interest  in 
the  organization  of  various  schemes  tending  to  extend  the 
field  of  labor  for  her  sex.  There  was  a  woman's  art- 
school,  where  girls  were  taught  needlework,  painting  on 
canvas,  porcelain,  etc.,  wood-carving  and  designing  pat- 
terns for  carpets  and  other  textile  fabrics.  There  was  a 
commercial  college  for  women,  where  the  pupils  were  in- 
doctrinated into  the  mysteries  of  bookkeeping,  and  thus 
qualified  for  positions  as  clerks  in  mercantile  and  other 
establishments  ;  and  then  last,  but  by  no  means  least  in 
her  estimation,  was  the  "  Martha  Washington  Medical 
College  for  Women." 

This  institution  had  been  founded  with  a  great  flourish 
of  trumpets  by  a  meeting  in  Chickering  Hall,  with  a 
bishop  and  fifty  or  more  persons  on  the  platform,  among 
them  being  clergymen,  physicians,  lawyers,  capitalists, 
and  a  very  few  professional  agitators.  Nobody  except 
a  dozen  or  so  narrow-minded  doctors  had  made  any  active 
opposition  to  the  movement.  Chief  among  them  was  a 
certain  Dr.  McPheeters,  a  little,  sour-visaged,  and  still 


THEODORA   DECIDES.  145 

more  sour-souled  individual,  of  whom  a  prominent  and 
witty  member  of  the  profession  had  said  that  he  never 
met  him  without  involuntarily  writing  a  prescription  for 
twenty  drops  of  essence  of  peppermint  on  a  lump  of 
sugar.  This  shining  light  had  never  contributed  an  idea, 
or  even  a  surgical  instrument,  to  the  science  of  medicine, 
but  his  opinion,  from  the  oracular  manner  in  which  it 
was  delivered,  his  confident  reference  to  the  u  dignity  of 
the  profession,"  and  the  assurance  that  Hippocrates,  if 
alive,  "  would  hang  his  honored  head  in  very  shame," 
went  for  something  with  certain  of  his  medical  brethren. 
Dr.  McPheeters  headed  a  little  band,  who  resolved  that 
they  would  not  countenance  the  entrance  of  women  into 
the  ranks  of  the  profession.  They  declared  that  not  only 
would  they  not  consult  with  them,  but  that  they  would 
not  consult  with  any  other  physician  who  recognized 
them.  This,  the  fulmen  Jovi  of  the  stagnant  medical 
man,  had  been  hurled,  but  it  did  not  seem  to  have  had 
much  effect,  for  not  only  were  there  several  prominent 
physicians  on  the  platform  at  the  meeting,  but  there 
were  many  more  equally  as  noted  in  the  body  of  the 
audience.  All  these  were  men  that  had  made  their  mark 
on  the  science,  and  whose  names  were  well  known 
wherever  medical  books  were  read.  Any  one  of  them 
had  done  more  toward  the  advancement  of  medicine  or 
surgery  than  Dr.  McPheeters  and  all  his  coadjutors  put 
together,  and  as  a  consequence  each  was  correspondingly 
hated  by  the  "  stagnants."  For  it  is  a  lamentable  fact 
that  there  is  in  the  medical  profession  a  small  class  of 
do-nothings,  or  at  best  men  who  do  nothing  but  routine 
work  that  has  become  automatic  with  them,  and  who 
force  down  to  the  utmost  of  their  power  those  that  show 
the  slightest  spark  of  originality  in  their  composition. 
7 


146  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

The  physician  that  does  not  believe  with  them  on  any 
question  of  medical  science  is  conceived  to  be  a  humbug, 
or  even  a  fraud.  "  The  man,' '  said  McPheeters,  at  the 
Minerva  Club,  "  who  holds  the  opinion  that  women 
should  be  allowed  to  practise  medicine  must  necessarily 
be  a  fool,  and  is  probably  a  knave.  I  would  not  consult 
with  such  a  man  ;  1  would  have  no  confidence  in  the 
correctness,  or  even  the  honesty,  of  any  opinion  he  might 
give."  However,  the  meeting  took  place,  the  medical 
college  was  organized,  and  was  soon  afterward,  with  an 
ample  endowment  and  well  equipped  in  the  matters  of 
laboratories,  museum,  and  all  needful  appliances  for 
medical  teaching,  in  the  full  tide  of  a  successful  experi- 
ment. For  this  result  Rachel  Meadows  was  in  a  great 
measure  responsible.  She  had  managed  to  interest  many 
persons  eminent  in  the  several  walks  of  life  and  possessed 
of  ample  means  in  the  welfare  of  the  college,  and  had 
not  only  obtained  their  influence,  but  what  was  of  equal, 
if  not  of  more  importance,  their  pecuniary  contributions. 
Rachel  was  the  daughter  of  Commodore  Meadows,  of 
the  United  States  Navy,  who,  after  having  served  faith- 
fully, was  retired  from  active  service  on  arriving  at  the 
age  of  sixty-two,  and  had  soon  afterward  died  in  disgust 
and  chagrin — so  his  friends  declared — at  being  laid  on  the 
shelf  like  a  useless  piece  of  apparatus,  when  he  felt  he 
was  just  as  good  as  ever.  He  had  left  beside  his  widow 
only  one  child,  Rachel.  He  had  not  seen  much  of  her, 
for  the  greater  part  of  his  forty-six  years  of  service  had 
been  passed  at  sea.  No  sooner  would  he  return  from 
one  cruise  than  he  was  ordered  on  another,  and  thus  he 
had  only  been  with  his  family  at  intervals  of  three  or 
four  years,  and  only  for  a  few  weeks  at  a  time,  till  a  year 
before  his  death.  Perhaps  matters  in  this  respect  would 


THEODORA   DECIDES.  147 

have  been  different  had  there  been  a  little  more  con- 
geniality between  the  Commodore  and  his  wife.  But  he 
was  a  natural  born  tyrant,  whose  innate  tendencies  had 
been  fostered  by  his  education.  His  house  was  his 
quarter-deck,  and  everybody  in  it  was,  he  conceived,  as 
much  under  his  command  as  were  the  sailors  who  manned 
his  ships.  He  always  addressed  his  wife  as  "  Madam," 
and  any  difference  of  opinion  with  him  was  either  insub- 
ordination or  mutiny,  to  be  punished  with  the  utmost 
rigor  of  naval  law,  if  only  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New 
York  had  permitted.  Upon  one  occasion  he  had  locked 
his  wife  in  a  dark  closet,  and  had  kept  her  for  twenty- 
four  hours  on  bread  and  water.  This  little  exercise  of 
marital  authority  had  nearly  cost  the  Captain,  as  he  was 
then,  his  commission  ;  for  Mrs.  Meadows,  who  was  by 
no  means  a  patient  Griselda,  and  who  could  generally 
manage  to  hold  her  own  with  him  in  any  wordy  conflicts 
that  might  be  going  on,  had  complained  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  and  this  official  had  gone  so  far  as  the  pre- 
ferment of  the  charge  of  "  conduct  unbecoming  an  officer 
arid  a  gentleman,"  with  six  distinct  specifications,  alleg- 
ing water- thro  wing  up  through  pinching  to  imprison- 
ment. But  Mrs.  Meadows  had  gone  to  Washington,  and 
had  begged  so  effectually  with  the  authorities  for  his  for- 
giveness, and  had  declared  that  she  would  not  testify 
against  her  husband  before  any  court-martial  that  might 
be  ordered,  that  they  had  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and 
had  ordered  him  to  sea. 

Kachel  was  at  that  time  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  and 
had  no  more  idea  that  woman  was  being  oppressed  by 
the  male  portion  of  humanity  than  such  as  she  obtained 
from  observing  her  father's  conduct  to  her  mother.  She 
knew  very  little  of  men  outside  of  the  family  circle,  but 


148  A   STEOISTG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

that  little  rather  inclined  her  to  view  them  with  feelings 
of  fear  and  contempt.  And  it  must  be  said  that  Mrs. 
Meadows,  by  her  example  and  precept,  encouraged  this 
conception,  so  far,  at  least,  as  concerned  those  men  who 
"  went  down  to  the  sea  in  ships"  belonging  to  the  naval 
establishment  of  the  United  States.  From  her  intimate 
acquaintance  with  Lieutenant,  Lieutenant-Commander, 
Commander,  Captain,  and  Commodore  Meadows,  sho 
had,  after  the  manner  of  some  of  her  sex,  jumped  at  the 
conclusion  that  all  naval  officers  were  brutes.  "  There 
isn't  one  of  them,"  she  had  said  to  Rachel,  "  who 
wouldn't  hit  you  on  the  head  with  a  marlin-spike  if  he 
dared." 

"  What  is  a  marlin-spike,  mamma?"  Rachel  had  in- 
quired. 

"It's  a  rolling-pin,  my  dear,  that  the  cook  uses  to 
make  his  beastly  duff  with  on  board  ship. ' 

"  And  what  is  duff,  mamma  ?" 

"  Duff  is  a  vile  compound,  made  of  flour  and  water 
and  lard,  that  they  feed  out  to  the  sailors  on  Sundays. 
Now,  don't  please  ask  rne  any  more  questions  about 
those  nasty  ship-things. 

"Promise  me  one  thing,  Rachel,"  said  her  mother 
one  day,  after  she  and  the  Commodore  had  had  a  rather 
severer  tussle  with  the  English  language  than  usual, 
i  i  that  you  will  never  marry  a  naval  officer.  !N  ot  even 
after  I'm  dead." 

"  Oh,  there  is  not  any  danger  of  that,  mamma,  for  I 
don't  know  any,  and  they  are  not  likely  to  come  to  the 
house  !" 

But  soon  after  that,  when  she  was  scarcely  eighteen, 
one  did  come  to  the  house,  and  not  only  once,  but  several 
times.  Rachel  learned  very  soon,  after  making  the  ac- 


THEODORA  DECIDES.  149 

quaintance  of  Ensign  Middleton,  that  all  naval  officers 
were  not  like  her  father.  She  did  not  exactly  love  him, 
but  she  liked  him  very  much,  and  she  would  probably 
have  married  him  on  his  return  from  the  cruise  on  which 
he  went  only  shortly  after  she  got  to  know  him,  had  he 
not  been  killed  under  Farragut  at  the  battle  of  Mobile 
Bay. 

Then  Rachel  took  to  hard  study,  and  from  hearing  a 
series  of  lectures  by  Miss  Richardson,  and  by  reading  an 
essay  of  John  Stuart  Mill's  on  the  "  Emancipation  of 
Woman,"  she  gradually,  very  much  to  the  disgust  of  her 
father,  and  somewhat  to  that  of  her  mother  also,  imbibed 
ideas  of  woman's  duties,  responsibilities,  and  rights, 
which,  as  the  Commodore  said,  made  his  hair  stand  on 
end.  u  It's  the  most  demoralizing  exhibition  the  world 
has  ever  seen,"  he  said  one  evening,  after  he  and  Rachel 
had  been  discussing  several  of  the  possibilities  of  the 
future  of  the  sex — "  doctors,  lawyers,  clergymen,  or 
t  clergy  women,'  I  suppose  you'll  call  them,  postmis- 
tresses, and  the  Lord  only  knows  how  many  other  things. 
After  a  while  I  suppose  they'll  be  taking  to  ths  navy 
and  wanting  to  command  steam  frigates  !  The  Lord  be 
with  them  !  when  that  time  comes  P d  steer  devilish 
clear  of  them,  I  know,  unless  I  wanted  to  go  to  the  bot- 
tom. And  to  think  a  daughter  of  mine  should  be  aiding 
and  abetting  by  her  example  all  these  turnings  of  the 
world  upside  down  !  Running  with  a  lot  of  short-haired 
women,  getting  all  sorts  of  notions  stuck  in  her  head 
about  the  i  tyranny  of  man,'  and,  the  '  equality  of  the 
sexes,'  and  other  damned  nonsense.  This  is  your 
work,  madam,"  turning  to  his  wife,  who  was  engaged 
with  a  game  of  solitaire.  "  I  left  my  daughter  with 
you  to  educate  and  bring  up  with  ideas  befitting  the 


150  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

daughter  of  an  officer  and  a  gentleman.  Yes,  madam, 
a  gentleman,  although  yon  did  do  your  best  to  have  me 
tried  on  the  charge  that  I  wasn't,  and  this  is  what  you've 
made  of  her.  She'll  be  wanting  trousers  next.  Isow, 
you  listen  to  me  !"  again  addressing  poor  Rachel,  who 
had  done  nothing  but  ask  his  permission  to  study  Latin 
and  Greek  ;  "  I'll  have  no  Latin  and  Greek  learned  by 
any  daughter  of  mine  ;  and  if  you  don't  stop  going  with 
that  Richardson  old  maid,  and  others  of  that  kind,  and 
get  your  mind  on  some  useful  things  that  women  ought 
to  know  and  that  they  don't,  I'll  not  leave  you  one 
cent,  and  you  can  get  your  living  by  lecturing,  if  you 
want  to." 

Mrs.  Meadows  only  looked  up  for  a  moment  while 
this  tirade  was  being  delivered,  and  had  then  gone  on 
with  her  game.  Tears  had  come  into  Rachel's  eyes,  but 
she  wiped  them  away,  and  a  stern  spirit  of  determination 
took  possession  of  her.  The  next  day  she  began  the 
study  of  elocution  from  a  lady  who  .had  once  been  an 
accomplished  actress.  Then  she  worked  harder  than 
ever  to  master  all  the  phases  of  the  woman  question,  and 
finally  she  undertook  to  learn  astronomy  and  to  learn  it 
as  thoroughly  as  was  possible,  with  the  view  of  making 
her  living  by  teaching  it  and  delivering  popular  lectures 
upon  some  of  its  wonders.  She  had  gone  to  Professor 
Symonds,  who  had  a  well-furnished  observatory,  and  she 
had  become  his  pupil.  Five  years  of  unremitting  labor 
had  made  her  an  accomplished  astronomer,  so  that  the 
old  professor,  her  teacher,  boasted  of  her  as  the  best 
pupil  lie  had  ever  had.  About  that  time  her  father 
died.  He  had  been  as  good  as  his  word,  and  had  left 
his  entire  estate  to  his  wife. 

Although  Mrs.  Meadows  was  perfectly  willing  to  be 


THEODORA  DECIDES.  151 

at  the  expense  of  Rachel's  maintenance,  the  girl  would 
hear  of  nothing  of  the  kind.  She  declared  that  she  was 
perfectly  able  to  support  herself,  and  that  she  intended 
to  do  so.  She  at  once  announced  in  a  neighboring  city 
a  course  of  lectures  on  astronomy,  in  which  the  great 
members  of  the  solar  system,  as  well  as  the  laws  that 
govern  their  motions,  were  to  be  described  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  the  highest  science.  These  were 
delivered,  and  being  well  illustrated  with  apparatus, 
diagrams,  and  stereopticon  pictures,  proved  remarkably 
successful.  Indeed,  her  lecture  on  the  Sun  received 
complimentary  notices  from  several  eminent  astrono- 
mers, both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  Then  she 
travelled  throughout  the  United  States  and  Canada,  at- 
tended only  by  her  maid,  and  preceded  by  her  man  of 
business,  received  everywhere  with  respect,  and  making  a 
solid  reputation  and  an  ample  pecuniary  profit.  The 
year  previous  to  her  introduction  to  the  reader  she  had 
been  induced  to  prepare  a  couple  of  lectures  on  the 
woman  question,  and  to  start  out  on  a  crusade  for  the 
purpose  of  influencing  public  opinion  in  favor  of  the  de- 
mands that  a  few  progressive  members  of  the  sex  were 
advancing.  This  campaign,  however,  had  not  resulted 
so  well  as  the  other.  She  found  her  own  sex  indifferent 
to  the  subject  of  their  rights,  and  this  fact  interfered 
very  materially  with  the  size  of  her  audiences.  It  was 
at  one  of  these  lectures  that  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton  had 
first  met  her. 

Rachel's  efforts  to  get  her  own  living  in  a  respectable 
way  had,  as  is  usual  in  similar  cases,  been  accompanied  by 
slights  from  many  of  her  fashionable  friends.  The  idea 
that  one  of  their  set  should  descend  to  anything  partak- 
ing of  the  character  of  work  was  an  insult  to  their  par-  / 


152  A  STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

venu  souls  that  was  not  to  be  forgiven.  Her  position, 
so  far  as  the  age  and  respectability  of  her  family  were 
concerned,  was  not  excelled  by  that  of  any  other  person 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  Her  father  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant of  that  Baron  Maedu  who,  in  conjunction  with 
others  of  his  peers,  had  brought  King  John  of  England 
to  terms,  and  her  mother  was  a  Pelham.  Yet  Miss  Sorby, 
whose  grandfather  had  driven  a  custom-house  cart,  and 
whose  grandmother  had  kept  an  apple-stand  in  the 
Bowery,  turned  up  her  aristocratic  little  nose — or  rather 
added  to  the  inclination  toward  the  stars  that  Nature  had 
given  it — whenever  Rachel's  name  was  mentioned  in  her 
presence.  And  Miss  Boggs,  whose  own  father  had  begun 
life  as  the  deck-hand  of  a  ferry-boat,  looked  out  of  her 
carriage,  with  its  armorial  bearings,  and  gazed  at  her 
former  acquaintance  with  a  stony  stare  that  would  have 
done  honor  to  Stoozjunkare. 

Rachel,  however,  cared  little  for  the  slights  of  such 
people.  She  was  entirely  capable  of  holding  her  own 
in  the  great  battle  of  life,  and  to  give  blows  as  well  as 
to  receive  them.  She  therefore  went  about  her  work 
with  that  assiduity  and  independence  of  character  which 
could  not  but  attract  the  attention  of  many  worthy  and 
influential  people.  She  was  not  very  extravagant  in  her 
demands  for  the  recognition  of  her  sex,  and  on  several 
points  she  had  been  convinced  against  her  will,  or  rather 
had  imagined  herself  convinced,  till  she  had  had  time  to 
reflect  fully  on  the  subjects,  and  then  doubts  had  arisen 
that,  like  Banquo's  ghost,  would  not  go  down.  And 
though  she  had  acted  with  the  "  United  Women  of 
America,"  she  had  done  so  not  because  her  heart  was  in 
the  work,  but  because  the  hearts  of  several  of  her  best 
friends  were  in  it,  and  she  did  not  care  to  desert  them. 


THEODORA  DECIDES.  153 

But  her  heart  was  in  all  that  concerned  the  education 
of  women  in  contradistinction  to  those  points  that  were 
related  to  their  so-called  political  rights.  She  thought 
that  woman  should  be  allowed  to  do  anything  in  the  way 
of  getting  her  livelihood,  or  of  mental  improvement,  that 
she  chose  to  do,  though  she  recognized  the  fact  that  some 
occupations  and  some  studies  were  better  suited  to  her 
than  others.  But  this  was,  she  contended,  a  matter  of 
which  woman  alone  should  be  the  judge.  If  she  under- 
took work  for  which  she  was  not  qualified,  the  world 
would  very  soon  find  it  out.  She  had  the  right  to  make 
the  trial  unrestrained  by  legal  or  social  restrictions.  If 
she  failed,  so  much  the  worse  for  her  ;  if  she  succeeded, 
fresh  fields  for  labor  were  opened  to  her,  and  she  and 
society  would  in  the  end  be  the  gainers. 

It  was  with  such  feelings  that  she  had  undertaken  the 
work  of  organizing  the  "  Martha  Washington  Medical 
College  for  Women."  She  had  succeeded  in  getting 
together  a  fairly  good  faculty,  in  which  men  and  women 
were  in  about  equal  proportions.  The  professorship 
of  physiology  had,  however,  been  very  unsatisfactorily 
filled,  and  she  had  for  several  months  been  on  the  look- 
out for  somebody  who  could  perform  the  duties  of  the 
chair  with  more  credit  and  usefulness  than  the  existing 
incumbent,  who  was  only  holding  on  till  a  successor 
should  be  found.  Then  Rachel  had  read  an  account  in 
the  Journal  of  Physiological  Science  of  Theodora's  ex- 
periments in  evolution  and  in  regard  to  the  velocity  of 
the  nerve-force.  Inquiry  had  resulted  in  the  discovery 
of  the  fact  that  the  author  was  now  the  wife  of  Mr. 
Geoffrey  Moultrie,  the  wealthy  and  distinguished  gentle- 
man who  had  done  more  than  any  other  man  in  the 
country  to  subjugate  the  forces  of  nature  and  to  over- 


154  A     STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

come  the  physical  obstacles  that  impede  the  advance  of 
civilization.  She  knew  that  Mrs.  Moultrie  was  one  of 
the  most  fashionable  women  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
and  for  a  while  she  despaired  of  obtaining  her  aid  tow- 
ard the  furtherance  of  medical  instruction  for  women. 
Moreover,  she  came  to  the  conclusion  that  since  her  mar- 
riage Mrs.  Moultrie  had  given  up  all  scientific  studies, 
and  that,  therefore,  her  heart  could  not  have  been  very 
deeply  in  her  work.  At  first  she  thought  she  would 
ascertain  for  herself  by  a  personal  interview  just  how 
matters  stood,  and  then  her  natural  timidity — for,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  she  could  face  an  audience 
from  the  rostrum,  she  never  did  so  without  fear  and 
trembling — stood  in  the  way,  and  she  resolved  that  it 
would  be  better  to  bring  the  subject  before  the  board  of 
trustees,  and  to  appoint  Mrs.  Moultrie  to  the  chair  with- 
out further  ceremony.  There  could  not  possibly  be  any 
grounds  for  offence  by  such  a  procedure,  and  the  reci- 
pient of  the  honor  would  decide  for  herself,  uninfluenced 
by  extraneous  solicitations. 

The  letter  announcing  Theodora's  election  had  been 
sent  on  the  afternoon  of  the  day  on  which  the  committee 
of  the  "  United  Women  of  America"  had  presented 
themselves  at  Moultrie's  meeting,  and  at  which  Rachel 
had  advocated  the  claims  of  her  sex  to  political  advance- 
ment. The  views  expressed  by  Moultrie  had  quite 
effectually  dissipated  any  idea  she  may  have  had  that  his 
wife  would  accept  the  appointment  tendered  her.  Al- 
though he  had  said  nothing  definite,  she  was  irresistibly 
led  to  the  conclusion,  by  what  he  did  not  say,  that  he  was 
opposed  to  the  entrance  of  women  into  any  domain  hith- 
erto regarded  as  exclusively  appertaining  to  the  male  sex. 
It  was  with  great  surprise  and  delight,  therefore,  that 


THEODORA   DECIDES.  155 

she  had  received,  on  the  morning  of  the  election,  Theo- 
dora's answer  of  acceptance,  with  a  request  for  an  early 
interview.  She  would  have  called  at  once  had  not  mat- 
ters of  immediate  importance  engaged  her  attention. 
These,  connected  as  they  were  with  her  retirement  from 
the  executive  committee  of  the  "  United  Women  of 
America,"  kept  her  busy  all  that  day,  and  it  was  there- 
fore not  until  the  following  afternoon  that  she  was  able 
to  visit  Theodora  at  her  residence. 

Theodora  had  thought  very  seriously  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject since  her  conversation  with  Lai  of  the  night  before. 
She  had,  when  they  parted,  nearly  made  up  her  mind  to 
recall  her  letter  of  acceptance,  even  if  such  an  act  should 
lay  her  open  to  the  charge  of  instability.  It  seemed  to 
her,  then,  that  the  happiness  of  herself  and  her  husband 
hung  in  the  balance,  and  that  persistence  in  her  under- 
taking would  tilt  the  beam  on  the  wrong  side.  But 
when  she  awoke  in  the  morning  she  found  the  reasons 
for  acceptance  as  strong  in  her  mind  as  they  had  ever 
been,  and  those  against  it  greatly  weakened  in  force  and 
vividness.  She  watched  Moultrie  with  all  the  keenness 
that  women  situated  as  was  she  bring  to  bear  on  their 
perceptive  faculties,  and  she  could  see  no  signs  of  dis- 
content with  the  choice  she  had  made.  Indeed,  he  sev- 
eral times  alluded  to  the  subject,  extolling  her  flow  of 
language,  her  knowledge  of  the  subject  she  was  to  teach — 
a  knowledge  that  was  not,  as  he  said,  obtained  altogether 
from  books,  but  which  had  been  acquired  by  her  own 
observations  and  experiments,  and  predicting  for  her  a 
success  such  as  no  woman  had  ever  yet  obtained  in  the 
domain  of  physiology. 

He  bade  her  remember  how  on  the  revival  of  letters 
and  of  learning  women  had  taken  a  position  among  the 


156  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

very  foremost ;  how  they  had  taught  theology,  and  had 
brought  converts  by  the  thousand  into  the  bosom  of  the 
Church  ;  how  they  had  indulged  in  controversies  with 
learned  doctors  of  the  opposite  sex, whom  they  had  often 
put  to  confusion  ;  how  they  had  publicly  supported  theses 
on  doctrinal  subjects  ;  how  they  had  filled  chairs  of  phi- 
losophy, law,  and  medicine  in  great  universities  ;  how 
they  had  talked  in  Latin  before  the  popes,  and  written 
excellent  verses  in  good  Greek. 

"  I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised,  my  dear  Theodora," 
he  had  said  to  her,  from  the  depths  of  his  dressing-room, 
"if  you  become  in  medical  teaching  what  the  young 
JBolognese  young  lady  was  in  law.  Perhaps  you  are 
familiar  with  the  instance.  It  is  very  fresh  in  my  own 
mind,  because  I  only  learned  of  it  yesterday.  I  am 
studying  up  in  all  matters  relating  to  women,  for  I  may 
be  called  upon  to  make  a  speech  in  Congress  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  a  display  of  learning  has  an  immense  effect  in 
that  body.  "Well,  this  young  woman' ' — here  there  was  a 
spluttering  and  a  splashing  of  water,  as  though  he  were 
being  drowned,  and  it  was  several  seconds  before  he  re- 
covered his  breath  sufficiently  to  go  on.  "  As  I  was  say- 
ing," he  at  length  resumed,  "this  young  woman,  who 
appears  to  have  flourished  during  the  thirteenth  century, 
devoted  herself  to  the  study  of  the  Latin  language  and 
of  the  laws.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  she  pronounced 
a  funeral  oration — rather  a  bad  beginning,  I  think — in 
Latin  in  the  Cathedral  of  Bologna,  that  was  regarded  as 
the  most  astonishing  piece  of  oratory  of  the  time.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-six  she  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws,  and  began  publicly  to  expound  the  Institutes  of 
Justinian,  and  at  thirty  her  great  reputation  caused  her 
to  be  appointed  to  a  professorship,  and  she  taught  law  to 


THEODORA   DECIDES.  157 

large  classes  of  students  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized 
world.  She  joined  the  charms  and  accomplishments  of  a 
woman  to  all  the  knowledge  of  a  man.  But  such,  adds 
the  chronicler,  was  the  power  of  her  eloquence,  that  her 
beauty  was  only  admired  when  her  tongue  was  silent.  I 
am  sorry  to  say,"  he  added,  after  another  series  of  splash  - 
ings,  "  that  her  name  is  not  given." 

She  was  astounded.  Was  he  laughing  at  her  ?  For  a 
moment  she  felt  inclined  to  be  a  little  indignant,  but 
then  she  reflected  that  he  saw  the  humorous  side  of  many 
subjects  that  he  regarded  seriously,  and  that  a  bantering 
tone  was  with  him  no  indication  of  a  lack  of  grave  ap- 
preciation. 

"  The  instance  is  an  unfortunate  one,  I  am  afraid," 
she  said,  laughing.  "  If  such  good  looks  as  I  have  are 
only  to  be  noticed  when  I  am  not  lecturing,  please,  sir, 
keep  away  from  me  when  I  am  at  the  college.  And  as 
to  her  name  :  if  she  had  been  a  man  the  whole  world 
would,  even  at  this  day,  have  known  it.  Unfortunately, 
all  the  printing-presses  were  in  the  hands  of  men,  and 
they  made  no  record  of  this  prodigy's  name." 

"  Ah,  my  dear,  there  I  have  you  !"  he  exclaimed. 
"  This  young  woman,  you  will  please  to  remember,  flour- 
ished in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  printing  was  not  in- 
vented till  the  fifteenth.  Some  women,  jealous  of  her 
distinction,  obliterated  all  traces  of  her  name,  though 
they  were  not  able  to  suppress  the  records  of  her  deeds. 
But,  then,  there  was  Modesta  di  Pozzo  di  Zozzi,  and 
Cassandra  Fidele,  and  Giulia  Frivulzio,  and  Spotta 
JSTogarolla,  and — " 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  Geoffrey,  where  did  you  pick  up 
all  those  names  ?' '  exclaimed  Theodora,  as  he  came  into 
her  room,  partly  dressed.  "  Are  you  making  fun  of 


158  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

me,"  she  continued,  in  a  more  serious  tone,  "  or  are  you 
merely  trying  to  astonish  me  with  your  learning  ?" 

"  As  I  said,  I  have  been  reading  up  for  my  speech. 
Fancy  the  looks  of  admiration  and  awe  that  will  over- 
spread the  faces  of  the  honorable  members  from  Hemp- 
field,  and  Pitt's  Four  Corners,  and  Pig-in-a-Poke  when  I 
rattle  off  those  names  as  readily  as  though  I  had  known 
them  all  my  life  !  Laughing  at  you,  Dory  !  My  dear 
child,  I  may  laugh  at  you  sometimes,  but  not  in  connec- 
tion with  so  weighty  a  matter  as  your  professorship. " 

"  But  you  have  apparently  been  giving  me  reasons  for 
accepting,  and  at  the  same  time  speaking  of  the  subject 
as  though  it  were  all  a  joke." 

"  My  dear  Dory,"  said  Moultrie,  "  I  thought  I  made 
it  clear  to  you  the  other  day  how  seriously  I  regarded 
the  matter,  and  that  it  is  one  that  you  must  decide  for 
yourself.  I  then  told  you  that  I  would  support  you  loy- 
ally in  the  decision  you  made,  and  I  am  now  beginning 
to  do  so.  If  I  show  more  than  my  usual  hilarity  in  my 
attempts  to  sustain  you  in  your  new  role,  you  must  at- 
tribute it  to  the  fact  that  I  feel  cheerful  and  contented 
with  what  you  have  done." 

"  Then  you  advise  me  to  accept.  Oh,  Geoffrey,  if 
you  would  only  say  that  you  do,  my  doubts  would  all  be 
removed  !" 

"  But  1  cannot  advise  you  to  accept,  my  dear.  If  I 
were  to  give  my  advice,  it  would  be  not  to  accept ;  but 
this  is  one  of  those  things  that  I  think  should  be  abso- 
lutely left  to  your  own  judgment.  I  know  what  your 
inclinations  are,  and  1  should  be  very  unhappy  if  they 
did  not  have  full  opportunity  to  be  gratified.  But  why 
discuss  the  question  again  ?  It  is  settled  finally,  and  you 
are  Professor  of  Physiology  in  the  i  Martha  Washington 


THEODORA   DECIDES.  159 

Medical  College  for  Women.'  It  is  already  unfait  ac- 
compli, and  1  wish  you  all  the  success  which  I  am  con- 
fident you  will  deserve." 

' '  I  could  resign. ' ' 

"  If  you  were  to  resign  from  conviction  that  you  had 
committed  an  error  in  accepting,  that  would  be  one  thing. 
Your  resignation  to  oblige  me  would  be  quite  another 
thing." 

"  But  there  may  be  some  points  that  you  see  and  that 
I  do  not  see,  and  if  you  were  to  explain  to  me,  would 
convince  me  that  I  had  committed  an  error.  Oh,  Geof- 
frey, is  it  not  a  part  of  your  duty  to  guide  me  when  I 
come  to  you,  as  I  do  now,  and  ask  you  to  aid  me  to  de- 
cide aright  ?  You  are  older  than  1,  you  know  the  world 
more  thoroughly,  and,  above  all  else,  you  know  your  own 
heart.  If  I  thought  that,  by  taking  this  place,  1  should 
lose  one  jot  or  tittle  of  your  affection,  do  you  think  I 
would  ever  enter  the  college  ?  What  are  professorships 
or  colleges,  or  the  whole  female  sex  to  me  compared  to 
your  love  ?  Geoffrey,  my  husband,  tell  me  what  I  am 
to  do  !"  She  threw  her  arms  around  his  neck,  and 
buried  her  face  in  his  breast.  "  You  are  all  the  world 
to  me,"  she  said,  as  he  kissed  her  head,  and  drew  her  to 
him  ;  "  I  am  in  distress,  and  I  come  to  you  in  my 
trouble.  Help  me  !" 

For  a  moment  the  words  were  on  his  lips,  "  Let  the 
college  go  to  the  devil,  and  stay  with  me  !"  but  it  was 
only  for  a  moment,  and  again  in  his  own  loving  but  de- 
termined way  he  hardened  his  heart  against  an  appeal 
that  was  almost  agonizing  in  its  intensity.  He  knew  that 
she  wished  to  take  the  professorship,  and  he  was  resolved 
that  she  should  submit  to  no  sacrifice  of  herself  in  the 
matter.  He  was  very  obstinate  when  he  had  once  made 


160  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

up  his  mind  to  any  particular  course,  and  sometimes  be- 
came blinded,  or  at  least  indifferent,  to  all  influences  that 
were  against  any  decision  he  might  have  made.  Doubt- 
less this  characteristic  had  been  of  vast  service  to  him  in 
the  conduct  of  the  great  engineering  works  he  had  ac- 
complished. He  had  great  faith  in  himself.  In  regard 
to  the  question  before  him,  he  had  grave  doubts  of  the 
advisability  of  his  wife's  acceptance.  The  idea  of  her 
appearing  in  public  as  a  lecturer,  even  though  only  be- 
fore a  class  composed  of  members  of  her  own  sex,  was 
unpleasant  to  him,  and  the  knowledge  that  the  perform- 
ance of  her  duties  would  necessarily  divide  her  sympa- 
thies and  create  in  her  interests  different  from  those  that 
personally  concerned  him,  was  painful.  He  had  known 
all  along  that  the  simple  statement  of  his  wish,  that  she 
should  refuse  the  proposition  of  the  trustees  of  the  med- 
ical college,  would  be  sufficient  for  her  ;  but  he  thought 
he  knew  equally  well  that  in  such  a  case  she  would  ex- 
perience ceaseless  regret,  and  he  could  not  bring  himself 
to  speak  words  that  would  convey  the  idea  that  he  was 
unduly  exercising  his  authority.  If  there  was  any  sacri- 
fice to  be  made,  he  intended  himself  to  be  the  victim,  not 
the  woman  whom  he  loved  better  than  himself. 

But  now  she  had,  as  it  were,  thrown  herself  at  his  feet, 
and  implored  him  to  put  his  foot  on  her  neck.  No 
abnegation  of  self  could  have  been  more  profound  than 
hers,  no  sacrifice  more  complete.  She  was  already  a 
marytr  in  spite  of  him,  for  no  material  sacrifice  could 
cost  her  more  pain  than  the  mental  immolation  she  was 
now  suffering.  Yet,  somehow  or  other,  he  failed  to 
comprehend  the  grandness  of  her  heroism,  or,  even  in  its 
entirety,  the  helplessness  that  had  characterized  her  ap- 
peal. He  could  not  dissociate  in  his  mind  her  self- 


THEODORA   DECIDES.  161 

denial  and  reliance  on  him  with  her  longing  to  get  once 
more  into  the  traces  of  the  student  and  the  lecturer.  He 
did  not  question  the  sincerity  with  which  she  had  plead 
with  him,  hut  he  did  doubt  her  thorough  understanding 
of  herself.  He  was  fully  persuaded  that,  were  she 
through  his  influence  to  give  up  the  idea  of  teaching  in 
a  medical  college,  the  time  would  come  when,  if  she  did 
not  openly,  she  would  in  her  heart,  reproach  him  for  any 
mental  inaction  or  regrets  that  she  might  suffer.  Strange 
that  he  did  not  see  that  in  her  supplication  to  him  for 
help  she  had  placed  herself  entirely  under  his  guidance, 
and  had  made  him  responsible  for  all  the  results  of  his 
failure  to  give  her  the  aid  she  asked,  and  which,  as  her 
husband,  he  had  no  right  to  refuse  !  Had  she  come  to 
him  of  her  own  accord,  and  said,  "  I  prefer  you  to  all 
the  colleges  in  the  world.  My  interest  is  in  you,  is  one 
and  indivisible.  1  am  convinced  that  a  married  woman 
has  her  own  home  to  supervise,  and  not  the  education  of 
other  women  ;  that  if  she  attempts  both,  one  or  the 
other  will  suffer,  and  I,  therefore,  have  decided  to  re- 
fuse the  appointment, "  he  would  have  rejoiced  beyond 
measure.  But  she  had  never  said  this,  or  anything  like 
it  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  knew  very  well — and  she  did  not 
deny  it — that  she  was  wrapped  up  in  her  studies  in  physi- 
ology, and  that  she  would  be  delighted  to  teach  ;  and 
that  however  much  she  might  be  willing  to  be  guided 
by  him — and  this  he  did  not  doubt — any  action  of  his 
looking  to  her  resignation  would  be  a  disappointment  to 
her,  to  be  borne  cheerfully  and  loyally,  doubtless,  but 
nevertheless  a  disappointment,  even  though  she  was  now 
unconscious  of  the  liability  to  any  such  result. 

Besides,  he  had  thought  that,  as  a  mere  matter  of  sound 
policy  that  would  eventuate  in  good  to  both  him  and  her, 


162  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

it  would  be  better  that  she  should  make  the  attempt  to, 
as  it  were,  serve  two  masters.  No  lessons  were  so  effec- 
tive as  those  of  personal  experience.  She  would  find  out 
for  herself,  and  no  great  harm  could  be  done  by  the  ex- 
periment. But  yet,  never  had  he  been  so  greatly  moved 
as  by  the  few  simple  words  she  had  addressed  to  him. 
Here  was  one  woman,  at  least,  that  loved  her  husband, 
and  was  willing — anxious,  to  give  up  her  most  cherished 
desire  to  please  him,  or  even  at  his  dictation,  whether 
reasonable  or  unreasonable.  He  had  never  loved  her  so 
fondly  as  at  that  moment.  For,  like  most  men  of  tender 
and  loving  hearts,  though  he  did  not  desire  that  a  woman 
should  sacrifice  herself  for  him,  he  did  desire  that  she 
should  be  willing  to  do  so.  His  own  wife  had  shown  her- 
self equal  to  the  emergency,  and,  so  far  as  he  could  be- 
stow it,  she  should  receive  her  reward. 

In  all  that  he  had  said  relative  to  the  success  of  women 
in  the  domain  of  learning,  and  of  his  confidence  in  her 
abilities,  he  had  said  what  he  believed  to  be  true,  and  he 
said  it  honestly,  in  order  to  encourage  her  to  do  her  best, 
and  to  remove  from  her  mind  any  lingering  idea  that 
might  lurk  there  that  he  did  not  yield  a  hearty  support 
to  her  wishes.  Still,  he  could  not,  without  doing  violence 
to  his  principles,  advise  her  to  accept.  He  felt  that  to 
do  so  was  entirely  beyond  his  power  ;  but  while  he  was 
thus  prohibited  by  strong  conscientious  scruples  from 
taking  an  active  part  for  or  against  the  proposed  meas- 
ure, he  was  equally  strongly  determined  not  only  that  he 
would  interpose  no  obstacles,  but  that  he  would  do  all  in 
his  power  to  make  her  path  clear,  and  to  give  her  all  the 
moral  and  physical  aid  she  might  require. 

"  My  darling,"  he  said,  when  she  had  finished  her  in- 
vocation to  him,  and  was  standing  trembling  in  his  arms, 


THEODORA   DECIDES.  163 

u  there  is  nothing  you  are  ever  likely  to  do  that  could 
lessen  the  hold  that  you  have  on  my  heart.  If  I  knew 
of  anything  that  could  come  between  us — if  I  thought  for 
one  moment  that  your  acceptance  of  this  professorship 
would  endanger  our  love,  then  it  would  be  my  duty  to 
speak,  not  only  to  give  you  my  advice,  but  to  beg  you  to 
refuse  the  appointment.  Now,  my  dear  child,"  he  con- 
tinued, smiling,  "  I  see  that  I  must  exercise  the  little 
authority  which  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  and 
the  customs  of  good  society  have  left  to  a  husband.  It 
is  my  will  and  pleasure  that  you  shall  do  in  this  matter 
exactly  as  you  wish,  acting  entirely  from  the  impulse  of 
your  own  heart,  controlled  only  by  your  own  reason.  If 
you  wish  to  please  me,  you  will  do  this  without  further 
discussion,  rememberiDg  that  I  shall  always  be  ready  to 
assist  you  faithfully  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability.  Now, 
then,  as  1  am  scarcely  in  a  fit  condition  to  appear  at  the 
breakfast-table,  perhaps  you  will  allow  me  to  finish  my 
toilet." 

No  more  was  said,  and  Theodora  made  up  her  mind  that 
the  Polish  ancestor  of  Tyscovus  knew  little  of  any  other 
man  than  himself.  That  afternoon  Rachel  Meadows 
called.  The  conference  was  eminently  satisfactory.  All 
the  details  of  the  matter  were  fully  explained,  and  it 
was  arranged  that  Theodora  should  on  the  following  day 
visit  the  college  on  a  tour  of  observation,  and  that  her 
lectures  should  begin  on  the  twentieth  of  the  month. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

A    JOKE    OR   A   CRIME  ? 

MRS.  SINCOTE  had  one  peculiarity,  which,  while  it  some- 
times gave  pleasure  to  herself  and  others,  more  frequently 
caused  annoyance  to  all  concerned,  and  sometimes  real 
distress.  She  was  fond  of  practical  jokes  when  she  was 
the  perpetrator.  A  pleased  victim  has  never  yet  been 
observed,  except  in  those  rare  cases  in  which  jocose  old 
gentlemen  have  presented  their  scapegrace  sons  or  neph- 
ews with  large  family  Bibles,  with  the  admonition  to 
4  (  search  the  Scriptures, ' '  which  doing  after  several  years 
of  continued  ungodliness  they  have  found  to  contain  one 
hundred  dollar  notes  between  every  two  leaves.  Or 
those  other  still  rarer  subjects,  physicians  or  lawyers,  per- 
haps, whose  patients  or  clients  indignantly  refuse  to  pay 
the  moderate  honoraria  suggested,  but  who  shy  a  stock- 
ing or  a  night-cap  at  the  "  sawbones"  or  "  limb  of  the 
law,"  exclaiming,  "  There,  you  murderer,"  or,  "  There, 
you  shark,  take  that  !"  and  which  on  being  explored  is 
found  to  contain  a  check  for  five  or  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Or  those  superlatively  rare  instance;  in  which  an  infatu- 
ated lover  is  led  by  his  Dulcinea  to  believe  that  she  is  de- 
votedly attached  to  his  rival,  and  who  one  day  receives 
a  note  requesting  him  to  call  immediately  at  the  lady's 
house  on  business  of  great  importance,  and  who  going, 
finds  her  dressed  in  bridal  array,  surrounded  by  her 
family,  and  the  parson  present,  with  book  in  hand,  and 


A  JOKE  OR  A  CRIME  ?  165 

only  waiting  his  arrival  to  begin  the  ceremony  that  is  to 
unite  him  to  his  jovial  mistress,  who  all  the  time  has 
been  dead  in  love  with  him,  and  has  been  studying  his 
character,  when  he  has  thought  himself  overwhelmed  with 
misfortune. 

Moultrie  had  tried  with  his  usual  persistency  to  break 
her  of  this  habit,  but  had  only  so  far  succeeded  as  to 
secure  immunity  for  himself  and  the  members  of  his  in- 
dividual family.  She  therefore  understood  that  he,  his 
wife,  and  daughter  were  sacred,  and  that  if  she  ventured 
upon  any  annoying  "  pleasantry"  in  his  household  she 
would  feel  the  effects  of  his  displeasure.  He  had  ex- 
tended his  positive  prohibition  to  the  practice  being  in- 
dulged in  at  all ;  but  as  he  was  not  ubiquitous  or  omnis- 
cient, she  felt  herself  entirely  safe  to  perpetrate  her 
tricks  upon  the  unwary,  not  even  sparing  her  own  mother 
and  daughter. 

The  morning  after  the  election  she  had  gone  to  Moul- 
trie's  to  congratulate  him  on  his  success,  a  full  account 
of  which  she  had  read  in  the  morning  papers.  The  dow- 
ager did  not  feel  equal  to  the  work  of  going  out  so  early 
in  the  day,  but  sent  a  very  loving  letter  to  her  son,  in 
which  she  gave  full  expression  to  her  feelings,  and  in- 
dulged the  hope  that  he  felt  a  due  sense  of  the  responsi- 
bility that  had  been  laid  on  his  shoulders. 

When  Mrs.  Sincote  arrived  Moultrie  and  his  wife  and 
daughter  were  still  at  the  breakfast-table.  Instead  of  at 
once  going  into  the  room  where  they  were  assembled, 
she  announced  to  the  servant  that  she  would  first  go  up 
to  Theodora's  boudoir,  in  order  to  take  a  look  at  a  por- 
trait of  Moultrie  that  had  come  home  from  the  artist  the 
day  before.  She  accordingly  ascended  the  staircase  to 
the  next  floor,  and  having  sufficiently  examined  and  ad- 


166  A    STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

mired  the  portrait,  which  stood  on  an  easel  in  front  of  the 
chair  which  Theodora  usually  occupied  when  she  was 
reading  or  was  at  leisure,  she  started  to  go  down-stairs. 
On  her  way  she  passed  by  the  open  door  of  Lalage's 
room,  and  without  stopping  to  think,  or,  perhaps,  with 
the  consciousness  that  she  had  the  freedom  of  the  house, 
she  entered  the  apartment,  and  gave  a  glance  around  at 
its  luxurious  furniture  and  arrangements.  Almost  at 
once  her  attention  was  attracted  by  a  letter  that  lay  on 
the  table,  and  that  was  directed  in  Lalage's  handwriting 
to  "  John  Tyscovus,  Esq.,  Planters'  House,  St.  Louis, 
Mo. ' '  It  wras  the  letter  that  lie  had  requested  Lai  to 
write,  and  that  she  had  left  unsealed,  in  order  that  she 
might  give  him  the  latest  intelligence  of  her  father  and 
his  movements,  that  she  had  intended  to  get  at  breakfast, 
and  add  in  a  postscript. 

Now,  Julia  Sincote  was  not  a  dishonorable  woman  at 
that  particular  time,  although,  perhaps,  not  an  over- 
scrupulous one.  She  picked  up  the  letter,  read  the 
superscription,  and  then  laid  it  down  again,  experiencing 
no  temptation  to  pry  any  further  into  its  character.  If 
she  could  have  obtained  a  knowledge  of  its  contents 
without  being  obliged  to  descend  to  the  meanness  of 
opening  and  reading  it,  she  would  doubtless  have  been 
glad.  But  she  felt  no  desire  to  do  so  at  such  an  ex- 
pense to  her  sense  of  decency  and  propriety  as  she  would 
have  thereby  incurred.  She  sighed,  however,  as  she 
thought  of  her  love  for  the  man  to  whom  the  letter  was 
directed,  and  then  she  turned  away. 

Or,  rather,  she  was  just  in  the  act  of  turning  away 
when  she  saw  close  to  the  letter  an  open  sheet  contain- 
ing writing.  Supposing  it  to  be  an  exercise  or  a  com- 
position, she  took  it  up  and  began  to  read  it.  Of  course 


A   JOKE   OR   A    CRIME?  167 

a  scrupulous  woman,  or  one  with  the  fine  sense  of  deli- 
cacy that  Julia  Sincote,  from  her  breeding  and  associa- 
tions, ought  to  have  possessed,  would  have  110  more 
thought  of  reading  an  open  writing  not  specially  in- 
tended for  her  eye  than  she  would  one  enclosed  in  an 
envelope. 

Now,  as  we  know,  Lai  had,  after  Theodora's  visit  of 
the  previous  night,  set  herself  to  work  at  her  letter  to 
Tyscovus  and  to  the  copying  of  a  page  from  her  treasured 
book,  as  was  her  custom.  She  was  a  very  methodical 
and  practical  young  woman,  and  to  have  omitted  any 
part  of  her  daily  routine  of  work  would  have  caused 
her  no  inconsiderable  amount  of  unpleasant  feeling.  She 
had,  therefore,  accomplished  her  task,  although  it  was 
long  after  midnight  when  she  got  through  and  laid  her- 
self down  to  sleep.  It  was  this  sheet,  containing  the  ex- 
tract from  the  book,  which  Julia  Sincote  had  in  her  hand, 
and  which  she  began  to  read.  It  was  a  sheet  of  note- 
paper,  such  as  all  the  other  extracts  had  been  written  on, 
and  of  the  same  kind  as  that  Lai  used  in  her  correspond- 
ence. When  the  work  was  completed,  she  would,  she 
thought,  have  all  the  sheets  bound  together  in  handsome 
style,  and  then  she  intended  to  present  the  volume  to 
Tyscovus.  As  the  reader  knows,  this  was  the  three  hun- 
dred and  tenth  page,  and  there  were  only  nine  more,  and 
then  her  work  would  be  done. 

As  Julia  Sincote  read,  a  strange  expression  passed 
over  her  face  ;  but  she  went  on,  apparently  fascinated 
with  the  knowledge  she  was  receiving.  When  she  had 
finished,  she  laid  the  sheet  upon  the  table— though  she 
still  held  it  between  her  fingers— while  she  stood  almost 
breathless  with  amazement  at  what  she  had  perused. 
Again  she  examined  the  sheet,  and  then  suddenly  she 


168  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

burst  into  a  laugh  that  was  almost  loud  enough  to  have 
been  heard  by  the  people  in  the  breakfast-room.  "  1574 !" 
she  exclaimed — "  three  hundred  years  ago.  Why,  it's 
only  an  extract  from  that  precious  book  of  hers,  which 
she  keeps  so  religiously  under  lock  and  key  ;  and  the 
date — '  November  16th' — this  very  day  three  hundred 
years  ago!  It  would  be  a  good  joke,"  she  continued; 
"I  think  I  will  do  it."  She  stood  for  a  moment, 
as  though  undecided  whether  or  not  to  follow  the  sug- 
gestion. Then,  with  a  little  heightened  color,  as  though 
blushing  for  the  remote  possibilities  of  her  act,  she  dip- 
ped her  pen  into  the  ink  and  changed  the  figure  "  5"  of 
the  year-date  to  an  "  8,"  so  that  it  was  "  1874."  Then 
she  took  the  letter  from  the  envelope  and  replaced  it 
with  the  sheet,  which  she  folded  in  exactly  the  same 
manner.  The  letter  she  held  in  her  hand  for  a  few 
moments,  apparently  in  doubt  as  to  what  disposition  to 
make  of  it.  Finally,  without  unfolding  it,  she  placed 
it  between  the  leaves  of  a  photograph-alburn  that  lay  on 
the  table,  and  fastening  the  clasps,  left  the  room,  well 
satisfied  with  the  success  that  had  attended  her  opera- 
tions. On  the  stairs  she  met  Lai  age,  who  was  coming 
up  in  some  degree  of  haste. 

"  Oh,  Aunt  Julia  !"  cried  Lai,  "  is  that  you  ?  I  did 
not  know  you  were  in  the  house. ' ' 

"  I  came  in  a  few  moments  ago,  and  stole  up-stairs 
quietly  to  take  a  private  look  at  your  father's  portrait. 
It  is  an  excellent  likeness,  as  well  as  a  lovely  work  of 
art." 

"  Yes,  it  is  very  much  like  him.  I  am  only  going  to 
get  a  letter  ;  I  will  be  down  again  in  a  moment." 

Lalage  was  so  quick  in  her  movement  that  she  and 
Mrs.  Sincote  entered  the  breakfast-room  together.  After 


A   JOKE   OR  A   CRIME?  169 

a  few  words  of  greeting  and  congratulation  between  the 
latter  and  her  brother  and  his  wife,  Lai  produced  her 
letter. 

"  I  will  go  into  the  library,  father,"  she  said,  "  and 
write  what  you  have  just  told  me." 

"  And  then,"  laughed  Moultrie,  "  the  postscript,  as  is 
so  often  the  case  with  women's  letters,  will  be  the  most 
important  part.  Perhaps  you  would  not  object  if  I 
wrote  a  little  note  to  Tyscovus  and  put  it  into  the  en- 
velope with  your  letter." 

"  Not  at  all,  father ;  1  think  that  would  be  very 
nice,  and  that  John  will  be  glad  to  get  a  letter  from 
you." 

"  Yery  well,  my  dear.  Then  I  will  go  with  you  and 
write  it  at  once." 

The  two  left  the  room  together.  Julia,  though  try- 
ing to  seem  interested  in  what  Theodora  was  talking 
about,  had  her  attention  mainly  directed  toward  the  ad- 
joining room,  as  if  expecting  every  moment  that  her 
joke  would  be  detected.  She  was  arranging  in  her  rnind 
the  details  of  the  defence  she  should  be  obliged  to  make, 
for  now  the  consequences  of  her  folly  loomed  up  in  large 
proportions  before  her,  and  she  was  quite  sure  that  not 
only  would  Lai  be  indignant,  but  that  Moultrie,  finding 
that  his  most  solemn  injunctions  relative  to  practical 
joking  with  members  of  his  family  had  been  disregarded, 
and  that,  too,  in  a  manner  so  indelicate,  would  cause  her 
to  feel  the  effects  of  his  wrath  in  a  way  that  would  be 
unpleasant  to  her.  Several  times  she  was  on  the  point  of 
going  into  the  library,  acknowledging  her  act,  and  asking 
forgiveness  ;  but  the  fear  of  Moultrie,  and  the  fact  that 
she  would  be  obliged  to  admit  that  she  had  tampered 

with  a  letter   not   her  own,   restrained   her.     Yes,  she 

8 


170  A    STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

would  wait,  she  thought,  till  the  explosion  came,  and 
then  she  would  get  out  of  the  scrape  as  well  as  she 
could. 

But  to  her  surprise  there  was  no  explosion.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  be  going  on  quietly.  Finally  she  heard 
Moul trie  say,  "  Now,  my  dear,  put  that  with  your  letter. 
It  will  probably  give  him  a  clearer  idea  of  the  political 
situation  than  anything  you  can  write."  There  was  a 
short  pause,  and  then  Moultrie  and  Lai  came  from  the 
room,  the  latter  having  the  letter  in  her  hand.  It  was 
closed.  Evidently  she  had  not  read  the  sheet  which  had 
been  substituted  for  her  own,  and  Julia  perceived  that 
unless  she  spoke  at  once  the  deception  would  not  be  dis- 
covered till  Tyscovus  received  the  letter.  But  she  was 
now  terribly  frightened.  She  had  not  supposed  for  a 
moment  that  the  matter  could  go  so  far  without  discov- 
ery. Her  joke  had  succeeded  beyond  her  most  sanguine 
expectations,  and  she  saw  that  unless  she  revealed  imme- 
diately the  nature  of  the  deception  she  had  practised,  it 
bid  fair  to  become  a  serious  affair,  arid  possibly  one  reach- 
ing the  proportions  of  a  tragedy.  Lai  stood  with  the  let- 
ter in  her  hand  ;  Moultrie  was  talking  with  Theodora 
about  some  arrangements  for  the  day.  He  was  bidding 
her  good-by  ;  he  approached  Lai  and  kissed  her.  "  "Will 
you  mail  my  letter  for  me,  please  ?"  she  said.  He  took 
it,  and  still  holding  it  in  his  hand,  said  "  good-morn- 
ing" to  Julia,  and  left  the  room.  "  Don't  put  it  into 
your  pocket,"  Lai  called  after  him.  "If  you  do  you 
will  forget  it."  She  followed  him  out  into  the  hall,  and 
stood  by  him  while  he  put  on  his  overcoat  and  gloves. 
Julia  joined  them  ;  she  had  made  up  her  mind  to  confess 
all,  and  to  throw  herself  on  the  mercy  of  her  brother  and 
niece.  Lai  had  retaken  possession  of  the  letter  while 


A   JOKE   OR  A   CRIME  ?  171 

Moultrie  was  drawing  on  his  gloves.  u  Kow,"  she  said, 
as  he  finished,  and  reached  out  his  hand  for  the  missive, 
"  you  will  please  to  keep  this  in  sight  till  you  get  to  the 
letter-box.  Hold  it  right  so,"  she  continued,  raising  his 
hand  till  it  was  on  a  level  with  his  eyes,  "  and  then  you 
will  be  sure  to  see  it."  He  laughed  and  turned  toward 
the  door.  Now  was  Julia's  last  chance.  The  word 
"  Stop  !"  was  OH  her  lips,  her  vocal  organs  were  ar- 
ranged for  its  enunciation,  her  chest  inflated  to  give  it 
emphasis,  her  hand  raised  for  the  accompanying  gesture, 
when  suddenly,  as  though  it  were  a  flash  of  lightning, 
an  idea  swept  through  her  mind  with  a  force  and  a 
vividness  that  almost  stunned  her.  For  a  moment  it 
seemed  to  her  as  though  her  heart  had  stopped  beating  ; 
then  her  hand  fell  to  her  side,  a  great  sigh  escaped  her, 
and  she  sank,  as  though  utterly  exhausted,  to  a  chair  that 
stood  by  her  side.  Then  she  heard  the  front  door  close, 
and  Lai  saying  something  to  her  in  accents  of  alarm. 
She  roused  herself  and  looked  about  her.  He  was  gone. 
It  was  too  late  now  to  stop  him,  even  had  she  wished, 
and  confession  was  out  of  the  question,  for  fhe  first 
seed  of  dishonor  had  been  planted  in  her  mind. 

"  It  is  nothing,"  she  said  in  answer  to  Lai's  inquiries  ; 
"  I  felt  a  little  faint  for  a  moment.  It  must  have  been 
because  1  drank  no  coffee  this  morning.  Please  don't 
trouble  yourself, ' '  as  Lai  made  a  motion  as  though  going 
for  assistance.  "  It  is  all  over.  I  will  go  into  the 
library  for  a  moment.  Then,  if  you  will  order  me  a  cup 
of  tea  it  will  be  all  that  I  shall  require." 

Lai  walked  by  her  aunt's  side  till  she  saw  her  seated 
in  a  large  arm-chair,  and  then  ringing  the  bell,  gave  direc- 
tions to  the  servant  in  regard  to  the  tea, 

"  Don't  wait,"  said  Mrs.  Sincote.   "  You  have  your 


172  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

studies  to  attend  to,  and  I  think  I  heard  Mrs.  Bowdoin 
go  up-stairs  a  moment  ago." 

She  was  anxious  to  get  Lai  out  of  the  way.  She 
wanted  to  think,  and  the  presence  of  the  woman  she  had 
wronged  interfered  with  the  easy  course  of  her  thoughts. 
Lai  waited  till  the  tea  came,  and  then,  seeing  that  there 
was  no  further  need  for  her  presence,  left  the  room. 

As  soon  as  she  was  gone  Julia  began  to  consider  very 
seriously  the  immediate  and  remote  possibilities  of  the 
situation.  Her  act,  originally  intended  as  a  piece  of 
pleasantry  to  herself  and  a  slight  annoyance  to  her  niece, 
had  passed  beyond  the  limits  of  a  joke.  It  had  become 
a  crime,  in  which  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  deliber- 
ation, and  which  every  moment  became  more  and  more 
of  an  outrage.  The  letter  was  already  mailed.  It  could 
not  be  recalled  ;  she  could,  of  course,  confess  her  guilt, 
and  thus  neutralize  the  consequences  of  her  offence  ;  but 
she  had  already  begun  to  take  pleasure  in  the  contem- 
plation of  the  possible  results,  and,  at  any  rate^  so  long  as 
she  held  her  tongue,  no  one  would  ever  know  that  she 
had  had  anything  to  do  with  the  deception  of  which  two 
innocent  persons  would  be  the  victims.  And  then  if 
the  result  should  be  such  as  she  now  hoped  for,  and 
which,  so  far  as  she  could  perceive,  was  almost  a  necessity 
of  the  position  of  affairs,  would  it  not  be  well  worth  all 
the  mental  suffering  she  might  be  called  upon  to  endure  ? 
She  had  never  before  attempted  anything  of  a  charac- 
ter to  call  a  blush  to  her  cheek,  and  she  was  not,  there- 
fore, conversant  with  the  feelings  of  a  person  accustomed 
to  the  perpetration  of  dishonorable  acts.  She  had  a 
vague  idea — the  result  of  information  from  books  and 
plays — that  the  unpleasantness  resulting  from  the  prick- 
ings of  conscience  became  less  with  each  transgression, 


A  JOKE   OR  A   CRIME?  173 

and  after  many  repetitions  not  only  was  no  pain  experi- 
enced, but  that  a  positive  pleasure  was  produced.  This 
process  was  what  she  understood  by  "  hardening  in 
crime."  Certainly,  therefore,  she  was  not  a  hardened 
criminal,  and  yet  she  did  not  experience  any  remorse  at 
the  contemplation  of  what  she  had  done.  On  the  con- 
trary, her  mind — now  that  she  had  recovered  from  the 
immediate  effects  of  the  shock  due  to  the  conversion  of 
her  joke  into  a  crime,  to  which  restoration  the  two  cups 
of  strong  tea  she  had  drunk  had  doubtless  materially 
contributed — was  well  at  ease  both  as  regarded  herself 
and  the  rest  of  the  world.  The  thought  of  possible  dis- 
tress to  Lai  and  Tyscovus  never  occurred  to  her  ;  cer- 
tainly not  in  any  form  or  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cause 
her  discomfort.  That  if  everything  succeeded  accord- 
ing to  her  hopes  there  would  be  disappointment  she  well 
knew,  accompanied,  perhaps,  by  tears  on  one  side  and 
anger  on  the  other,  but  that  there  would  be  any  severe 
emotional  disturbance  she  did  not  believe.  Lai  was 
young  ;  she  had  pledged  her  faith  to  Tyscovus  when  she 
knew  nothing  of  the  world — not  even  her  own  mind — 
and  hence  could  not  be  supposed  to  be  capable  of  very 
keen  suffering  from  a  love-affair  with  a  man  from  whom 
she  had  parted  almost  as  soon  as  she  had  made  his  ac- 
quaintance, and  whom  she  had  not  seen  for  more  than 
two  years. 

As  for  Tyscovus,  she  was  not  prepared  to  form  any 
very  definite  conclusions  in  regard  to  his  probable  course 
on  receipt  of  the  false  letter.  She  knew  very  little  of 
him  personally,  not  having  met  him  more  than  half  a 
dozen  times,  and  then  not  being  the  recipient  of  any 
marked  attention  from  him.  But  she  had  been  struck 
with  his  appearance  and  manner  from  the  very  first 


174  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

moment  that  she  had  laid  her  eyes  upon  him,  and  it  was 
a  source  of  bitter  regret  to  her  when  she  learned,  as  she 
did  soon  afterward,  that  he  was  the  accepted  lover  of 
her  niece,  then  an  ignorant  and  uncouth,  though  beauti- 
ful girl.  "What  he  could  see  in  Lai  beyond  good  looks 
she  could  not  then  perceive.  Subsequently,  though 
much  against  her  will,  she  had  been  forced  to  acknowl- 
edge to  herself  that  the  girl  was  possessed  of  many  at- 
tractions and  of  some  qualities  that  wrere  calculated  to 
excite  in  her  wholesome  feelings  of  respect  and  of  fear. 

But  to  come  back  to  Tyscovus  :  "  What,"  she  asked 
herself,  "  will  he  do  when  he  reads  the  letter  ?  Will  he 
indignantly  write  for  an  explanation  ?  Will  he  hurry  on 
to  New  York  and  seek  an  interview  with  Lai,  or  will  he, 
regarding  the  letter  as  a  finality  against  which  there  is 
no  appeal,  accept  the  apparent  situation,  and  preserve  a 
dignified  silence  toward  a  woman  worthy  only  of  his  con- 
tempt ?  If,"  she  thought,  "  he  should  write  or  come, 
exposure  must,  of  course,  be  the  immediate  consequence. 
Fortunately,  there  is  nothing  to  implicate  me,  and  they 
may  wonder  who  is  the  perpetrator  till  they  grow  gray, 
and  never  suspect  that  I  had  a  hand  in  it.  Should  he 
accept  his  dismissal  in  silence  and  remain  absent  from 
her,  what  then  ?  That  requires  a  good  deal  of  consider- 
ation. She,  finding  that  he  does  not  come,  or  even 
write,  will  at  first  be  surprised  ;  then  after  a  little  while 
she  will  begin  to  think  that  he  did  not  receive  her  let- 
ter, and  she  will  write  again.  Then,  of  course,  there 
will  be  a  clear  understanding  between  them,  and  all  this 
will  come  to  naught.  I  don't  know  how  it  will  end. 
There  are  too  many  contingencies  to  make  it  safe  to 
predict.  Time  alone  can  show. 

"  But  how  will  it,  in  any  event,  benefit  me  ?     Is  it  at 


A  JOKE  OR  A  CRIME  ?  175 

all  likely  that  I  shall  ever  see  him  again  ?  Ah  !"  she 
exclaimed,  as  an  idea  occurred  to  her,  "  he  will  be  in 
Washington  this  next  winter,  and  so  will  Geoffrey.  It 
would  be  very  easy  for  me  to  be  there,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility Lai  will  remain  in  New  York.  Yes,  it  might  then 
be  possible." 

Julia  Sincote  was  by  no  means  a  profound  woman, 
but  at  the  same  time  she  was  certainly  not  a  fool. 
While  not  given  to  intellectual  pursuits  of  any  kind, 
rarely  reading  a  book  that  required  any  considerable  ex- 
ercise of  her  thinking  faculties,  she  had,  by  the  use  of 
sharp  perceptive  powers  and  abundant  opportunities  for 
observation,  picked  up  a  good  stock  of  knowledge  of 
contemporaneous  events  and  of  human  nature.  More- 
over, she  had  for  many  years  indulged  in  the  reading  of 
romances  and  other  works  of  fiction,  the  chief  interest 
of  which  centred  upon  intricate  plots,  and  in  reports  of 
notable  trials  in  various  parts  of  the  world  in  which  deep- 
laid  conspiracies  were  exposed.  She  had  hence  become, 
to  a  certain  extent,  familiar  with  the  ways  of  the  perpe- 
trators and  victims  of  crimes,  and  could  predict  with  ex- 
actness what  such  or  such  a  character  would  do  under 
the  particular  fortunate  or  unfortunate  circumstances  in 
which  he  or  she  might  be  placed.  She  was  bringing  to 
bear  on  the  present  matter,  therefore,  a  mind  trained  in 
the  investigations  of  human  nature  when  surrounded  with 
difficulties  and  subjected  to  misfortunes.  The  fault  in 
her  mental  processes  was  that  they  had  been  to  a  great 
extent  constructed  upon  models  that  were  not  those  of 
human  nature  at  all,  but  of  false,  morbid,  and  impossible 
types,  created  by  writers  who  mistook  their  vivid  flights 
of  imagination  for  descriptions  of  real  character  and 
potentiality.  She  accepted  these  incongruities  of  per- 


176  A   STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

sons  and  conduct  as  actualities,  failing  to  perceive  that 
the  creators  and  writers  had  scarcely  ever  been  consistent, 
and  that  unless  they  had  caused  the  personages  of  their 
stories  to  do  the  very  things  which  rational  persons  would 
not  do,  there  would  have  been  no  ground  for  continuing 
to  write. 

She  had  never,  in  any  of  the  many  true  and  fictitious 
plots  with  which  she  was  familiar,  met  with  two  such 
personages  as  her  niece  Lalage  and  Tyscovus.  Neither 
had  she  come  in  contact  with  their  counterparts  in  real 
life.  But  these  facts  did  not  disturb  her  very  much. 
She  recalled  to  mind  incidents  in  several  novels  which 
were  not  essentially  different  from  that  which  was  now 
the  subject  of  her  meditations,  and  in  which  the  most 
terrible  confusion  and  disasters  had  resulted  from  false 
letters.  In  one  instance  the  receiver  of  a  forged  letter, 
purporting  to  come  from  the  woman  he  loved,  had  seized 
a  pistol  and  blown  his  brains  out.  She  shuddered  a  little 
as  she  thought  of  this,  but  she  did  not  believe  Tyscovus 
was  the  man  to  kill  himself  for  the  sake  of  a  woman 
that  he  believed  had  deceived  him.  In  another,  the 
man  who  had,  by  a  fraudulent  communication,  been 
brought  to  the  belief  that  the  woman  he  was  about  to 
marry  had  discarded  him,  had  killed  her  that  he  thought 
had  played  him  false.  This  was  not  like  Tyscovus.  She 
had  no  fear  for  Lai's  life.  In  another,  the  woman  whose 
false  friend  had  alienated  from  her  the  affections  of  her 
lover  had  died  gradually  of  a  broken  heart.  "  Well," 
she  thought,  "  I  don't  believe  Lai  is  that  kind  of  a  girl ; 
but  if  she  is,  and  I  can  gain  his  love,  she  must  take  the 
consequences." 

There  were  many  other  similar  events  that  had  resulted 
from  the  misunderstandings  of  lovers,  brought  about  by 


A   JOKE   OE   A   CRIME?  177 

interested  parties  acting  dishonorably,  that  occurred  to 
her  as  she  sat  thinking,  her  mental  activity  more  than 
usually  developed  by  the  tea  she  had  drunk  ;  but  in  none 
of  them  had  the  sufferers  been  possessed  of  the  strong 
natures  that  she  had  reason  to  believe  were  inherent  in 
Tyscovus  and  her  niece.  She  knew  enough  of  them 
both  to  be  aware  that  whatever  action  either  of  them 
took  would  be  marked  by  decision,  honesty,  generosity, 
and  firmness,  without  any  element  of  weakness  being 
present ;  but  what  that  action  would  be  she  could  not 
determine.  As  she  had  said  before,  time  alone  could  do 
that ;  and  for  the  present  all  she  had  to  do  was  to  wait 
patiently  and  prudently  for  the  consequences.  The 
matter  was  out  of  her  hands.  She  had  thought  the  sub- 
ject over  with  about  as  much  thoroughness  as  she  was 
capable  of  at  that  time,  so  she  rose  languidly  from  her 
semi-recumbent  position  in  the  deep  arm-chair,  and  was 
on  the  point  of  leaving  the  room  when  Lalage  entered. 

"  I  hope  you  are  better,  Aunt  Julia,"  she  said.  "  Yes, 
you  look  much  better.  I  came  to  see  if  I  could  find  the 
copy  I  made  last  night  from  my  book.  I  left  it  on  the 
table  in  my  room,  but  it  is  not  there  now,  and  I  thought 
I  might  have  brought  it  down-stairs  this  morning  with 
my  letter.  No,  it  is  not  here,"  she  continued,  as  she 
looked  among  the  books  and  bric-d-brac  on  the  library- 
table.  "  I  cannot  imagine  what  has  become  of  it." 

"  Did  you  ask  Mary  ?  Perhaps  she  moved  it  when 
she  arranged  your  room." 

"  I  asked  her,  but  she  says  she  did  not  touch  it.  She 
never  disturbs  my  table.  She  does  not  even  dust  it ;  I 
do  that  myself." 

"  It  may  have  blown  out  of  the  window.  There  was 
quite  a  high  wind  when  I  came  in." 


178  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

44  Yes,  that  is  quite  likely.  I  opened  all  the  windows 
when  I  came  down.  And  now  I  think  of  it,  I  did  not 
see  it  when  I  went  up  for  my  letter." 

"  Was  it  of  any  great  consequence  ?" 

"  Oh,  no  ;  I  can  easily  copy  it  over  again." 

A  strange  fascination,  such  as  is  sometimes  seen  in  per- 
sons who  feel  irresistibly  impelled  to  visit  the  places 
where  their  crimes  have  been  committed,  or  to  talk  of 
incidents  connected  with  them,  took  possession  of  Julia. 
Although  she  knew  that  the  exhibition  of  any  unwonted 
degree  of  interest  in  what,  after  all,  was,  so  far  as  Lai 
was  aware,  a  trivial  matter  concerning  only  herself, 
would  be  liable  to  excite  suspicion  against  her,  she  could 
not  refrain  from  plying  her  niece  with  question  after 
question  relative  to  the  matter — the  size  of  the  sheet, 
the  kind  of  paper,  the  exact  position  it  occupied  on  the 
table,  whether  it  was  open  or  folded,  and  a  dozen  others 
of  no  importance,  but  the  answers  to  which  she  knew 
as  well  as  did  Lai.  And  then  there  came  another,  also 
unnecessary,  and  which,  if  there  had  been  any  suspicion 
of  her  duplicity,  might  have  led,  by  the  agitation  she  ex- 
hibited, to  her  discovery. 

"  What  was  it  about  ?"  she  asked  ;  "  something  very 
amusing,  I  suppose." 

"  Oh,  no,  it  was  not  in  the  least  amusing.  Indeed,  it 
was  very  sad  ;  but  you  could  not  understand  it  unless 
you  knew  all  about  what  took  place  before.  It  was  a 
letter  written  by  a  lady  to  a  son  of  Count  John  Tyscovi- 
cius,  who  was  the  great  ancestor  of  Mr.  Tyscovus. ' ' 

Now,  although  Julia  was  perfectly  conversant  with 
the  subject-matter  of  the  letter,  she  knew  nothing  what- 
ever of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  had  been  writ- 
ten. She  had  never  even  so  much  as  seen  the  little 


A   JOKE   OR  A   CRIME?  179 

book  from  which  the  extract  had  been  made,  though,  as 
it  was  a  family  matter,  she  knew  the  history  of  it,  its 
general  character,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  had  come 
into  Lai's  possession.  Here,  then,  was  an  opportunity  not 
only  for  ascertaining  the  causes  that  had  led  to  the  orig- 
inal letter  being  written,  but  also  for  discovering  how 
Tyscovus's  ancestor  had  acted  when  he  received  it. 
"Surely  it  might,"  she  thought,  "be  reasonably  sup- 
posed that  the  descendant  would  act  in  a  similar  manner 
under  like  circumstances.  And  what  a  wonderful  fact," 
she  continued  to  herself,  "  that  three  hundred  years  to 
a  day  after  the  original  had  been  sent  to  the  ancestor  a 
copy  should  be  sent  to  the  descendant!"  Julia  had 
heard  something  of  history  repeating  itself,  but  she  had 
never  heard  of  such  an  exact  duplication  as  this,  and  she 
really  began  to  feel  a  sort  of  pride  in  her  connection 
with  so  remarkable  an  event. 

"  Now,  my  dear,"  she  said,  settling  herself  again  in 
the  deep  arm-chair,  "  I  am  not  in  a  hurry  this  morning, 
and  you  can  surely  give  me  a  few  minutes  of  your  time, 
in  which  to  tell  me  all  about  this  letter.  I  have  a  sort 
of  a  presentiment  that  it  is  a  very  interesting  story.  Sit 
down  there,"  pointing  as  she  spoke  to  a  low  chair  near 
her  ;  "  make  yourself  comfortable,  and  tell  me  the  whole 
story  of  that  letter  from  first  to  last. "  Lai  smiled  at  her 
aunt's  eagerness.  She  glanced  at  the  clock  on  the  mantel- 
piece ;  "  I  can  give  just  ten  minutes,  Aunt  Julia,"  she 
said.  "It  is  a  very  sad  story,  but  it  is  good  for  us 
sometimes  to  hear  such  things  ;  and  if  you  would  really 
like  to  know  about  the  letter,  why,  I  will  tell  you." 

"  Yes,  I  wish  to  know  all  about  it.  I  am  very  cheerful 
this  morning,  and  though  I  am  not  one  of  those  morbid 
individuals  who  are  never  happy  unless  they  are  miser- 


180  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

able,  a  little  sadness  to-day  would  be  quite  acceptable. 
So  go  on,  dear." 

"  Count  John  Tyscovicius,"  said  Lai,  "  had  a  son  also 
named  John,  and  he  was  about  to  marry  the  Countess 
Louisa  Karpinski,  when  he  was  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison  on  suspicion  of  conspiring  against  the  State.  He 
was  not  guilty  of  the  crime  with  which  he  was  charged, 
but  he  was  kept  confined  in  a  dungeon  and  loaded  with 
chains  for  more  than  a  year  before  he  was  let  out. 

"  Just  before  he  was  put  in  jail  he  parted  with  the 
Countess  Louisa  as  he  thought  only  for  a  few  days  ;  but 
that  night  he  was  taken  from  his  bed  by  soldiers  and 
carried  to  the  prison.  The  countess  sent  him  word  that 
she  would  be  faithful  to  him,. though  he  might  be  kept 
there  all  his  life,  and  this  thought  gave  him  courage  to 
endure  the  cruel  treatment  he  received,  and  to  make  him 
long  to  get  out. 

' '  But  just  as  his  innocence  was  about  to  be  shown, 
and  he  was  already  being  treated  better  than  he  had  been, 
he  received  a  letter  from  the  Countess  Louisa  which  for 
a  while  almost  made  him  wish  he  was  dead.  That  was 
the  letter  I  copied,  and  I  suppose  I  will  now  have  to  do 
it  all  over  again. ' ' 

"  How  very  interesting!"  said  Julia.  "  But,  my 
dear,  what  did  she  write  that  was  so  horrible  ?  Of 
course  she  did  not  give  him  up  in  the  midst  of  his  suf- 
ferings ?  No  true  woman  would  have  done  that." 

"No,"  exclaimed  Lai ;  "  no  woman  but  one  whose 
heart  was  full  of  falsehood  or  whose  mind  was  very  weak 
would  have  done  such  a  thing,  and  for  a  while  Count 
John  could  not  believe  that  she  had  written  it ;  but  it  was 
in  her  handwriting,  and  signed  with  her  name.  But 
shall  I  read  you  the  letter  ?"  she  continued,  taking  the 


A   JOKE   OR  A    CRIME?  181 

little  vellum-bound  volume  from  the  bosom  of  her  gown. 
"  Then  you  will  see  what  a  wicked  letter  it  was — oh, 
yes,  what  a  very  wicked  letter  !" 

Mrs.  Sincote  expressed  her  intense  anxiety  to  hear  the 
letter  read.  Her  interest  was  excited  beyond  measure. 

"  'NOVEMBER  16,  15Y4. 

"  '  DEAR  JOHN  :  It  is  with  a  heart  full  of  sorrow,'  "  Lai 
read,  "  '  that  I  write  this  letter.  How  little  we  know 
our  own  souls,  even  when  we  think  we  know  them  best ! 
You  were  my  first  friend  ;  the  recollection  of  your  good- 
ness to  me  when  I  was  in  sore  trouble  can  never  fade 
from  my  memory  ;  I  would  rather  die  than  cause  you 
pain,  and  yet  I  must  speak  the  truth,  even  though  we 
both  suffer  more  than  we  have  ever  suffered  in  all  our 
lives  before.  You  yourself,  even  though  you  may  blame 
me  now,  will  erelong  admit  that  I  am  right  ;  for  you 
are  a  lover  of  the  truth. 

"  '  I  thought  I  loved  you  with  all  rny  soul ;  for  when  I 
parted  with  you,  more  than  two  years  ago,  I  felt  as 
though  I  were  leaving  behind  me  all  that  I  valued  on 
earth.  But  now  that  I  have  had  time  to  search  my 
heart,  I  discover  to  my  dismay  that  it  was  not  love  that 
filled  it,  but  only  a  great  regard,  such  as  one  friend  might 
feel  for  another.  Remember  how  ignorant  I  was  ;  how 
little  I  knew  of  the  world,  and  forgive  me  any  pain  that 
this  declaration  may  cause  you. 

"  l  We  may  never  meet  again  ;  but  whether  we  do  or 
not,  be  always  my  friend,  as  I  am  yours.  L.'  ' 

"  And  what  did  he  do  when  he  received  the  letter  ?" 
said  Julia,  leaning  forward  in  her  chair,  with  anxiety 
depicted  on  her  countenance. 


182  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  For  a  while — it  goes  on  to  say  here — he  sat  in  his 
cell  without  saying  a  word.  He  was  just  like  a  person 
in  a  trance.  He  was  going  to  be  released  the  very  next 
day,  and  then  he  expected  to  marry  the  woman  who  was 
now  so  false.  Everybody  that  has  ever  borne  the  name 
of  Tyscovus  or  Tyscovicius,  as  it  was  then,  has  been  good 
and  noble,"  continued  Lai,  her  face  suffused  with  pride, 
"  and  this  one  was  a  brave  and  generous  man,  who  could 
not  do  a  low  act.  But  he  did  a  foolish  one,  as  the  book 
says." 

"  What  did  he  do  ?     I  am  all  anxiety  to  know." 

"  Countess  Louisa  Karpinski  had  one  aunt,  a  widow, 
who  was  very  beautiful  but  very  wicked." 

"  Go  on  !"  cried  Julia,  in  a  husky  voice,  as  Lai  stop- 
ped for  a  moment. 

"  Yes,  she  was  very  wicked,  for  she  was  in  love  with 
Count  John  herself,  and  she  wrote  him  a  letter,  telling 
him  how  false  the  Countess  Louisa  was,  and  how  she  had 
endeavored  to  prevent  her  writing  that  letter  ;  and  she 
had  all  the  time  been  trying  to  persuade  the  Countess 
Louisa  to  marry  another  man,  the  Count  Stephen  Os- 
karof." 

Julia  had  risen  to  her  feet,  and  was  walking  the  floor 
with  an  agitated  manner  that  gave  ample  evidence  of  the 
effect  that  the  story  was  producing  upon  her. 

"  What  did  he  do  ?"  she  said,  approaching  Lai,  who 
was  busy  turning  over  the  leaves  of  the  book,  and  who 
had  apparently  taken  no  notice  of  the  excitement  dis- 
played by  her  aunt.  "  Will  you  never  come  to  it  ?" 

"  In  one  moment,  aunt  ;  I  am  coming  to  it.  For  a 
long  time,"  she  continued,  "he  sat  without  saying  a 
word.  Then  he  read  the  letter  over  again.  i  She 
thought  she  loved  me  with  all  her  soul,'  he  said.  '  Per- 


A   JOKE   OR   A   CRIME?  183 

haps  she  really  did,  but  her  soul  is  so  small  that  it  takes 
very  little  love  to  fill  it. '  Then  he  walked  the  floor  of 
his  prison,  for  his  chains  had  been  taken  off,  and  he  had 
been  given  a  large  room,  and  it  happened  that  he  glanced 
into  a  looking-glass  that  hung  on  the  wall,  and  there  he 
saw  that  his  hair  and  beard,  which  had  been  very  black, 
had  become  as  white  as  snow." 

"  How  horrible  !"  exclaimed  Julia.  "  How  much  he 
must  have  suffered  !  But  what  did  he  do  ?" 

"  The  next  day  he  was  released  from  prison,  and  there 
at  the  door,  waiting  for  him  in  a  splendid  sleigh,  with 
costly  robes  to  keep  him  warm,  was  the  treacherous  aunt. 
At  first  she  did  not  know  him,  for  his  hair  and  beard 
were  entirely  white,  and  his  face  had  a  sad  look  that  she 
had  never  seen  there  before.  But  she  took  him  to  her 
castle,  and  nursed  him  till  he  got  well  and  strong,  all  the 
time  pitying  him  on  account  of  the  bad  way  in  which  he 
had  been  treated  by  the  Countess  Louisa.  And  she  was 
so  kind,  and  her  sympathy  was  so  sweet  to  him,  that  he 
thought  he  would  marry  her  ;  for  although  he  liked  her 
very  much  he  did  not  yet  love  her. 

"  But  she  began  to  feel  badly  about  what  she  had 
done  ;  she  felt  that  she  had  committed  a  great  sin,  and 
that  she  must  ask  forgiveness  of  God  for  her  wickedness. 
And  she  was  very  wicked,"  continued  Lai,  her  own  in- 
terest deepening  as  she  went  on,  and  her  manner  becom- 
ing more  animated,  "  much  worse,  Aunt  Julia,  than  you 
think,  and  as  you  will  find  out  directly.  So  she  ordered 
her  sleigh,  and  went  off  over  the  plain,  ten  miles  or  more, 
to  a  monastery,  where  there  was  a  good  man  she  knew. 
She  got  there,  and  saw  the  good  man,  and  told  him  what 
she  had  done — everything.  He  was  very  angry,  but  very 
sorry,  too,  and  he  told  her  that  he  could  not  ask  God  to 


184  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

forgive  her  till  she  had  shown  by  her  works  that  she  re- 
pented. Then  he  commanded  her  not  to  go  home,  but 
to  go  to  a  convent  near  by,  and  to  stay  there  and  fast 
and  pray  for  five  days,  and  then  to  come  to  him  again, 
and  he  would  help  her  to  undo  all  the  wrong  she  had 
done.  She  left  him,  promising  that  she  would  do  all  he 
had  ordered.  But  no  sooner  was  she  out  of  his  sight 
than  she  changed  her  mind,  and  resolved  that,  no  matter 
what  happened,  she  would  marry  Count  John  the  next 
day,  as  had  been  arranged.  Well,  she  got  into  her  sleigh 
and  wrapped  herself  up  in  her  warm  robes,  and  told  the 
driver  to  go  home  to  her  castle  as  fast  as  he  could.  It 
was  night,  but  the  moon  was  shining  so  brightly  on  the 
snow  that  it  was  almost  like  day.  On  they  went  like 
the  wind,  and  then  suddenly  she  heard  a  single  bark  of 
a  wolf,  and  then  in  an  instant  another,  and  then  almost 
at  once  a  thousand  barks  from  wolves  that  seemed  to 
spring  up  from  the  snow  all  around  them.  The  driver 
plunged  his  horses  through  those  that  were  in  front  of 
him,  and  lashed  them  with  his  whip  ;  and  though  he  was 
closely  followed  by  the  starving  wolves,  he  got  back  to 
the  castle  gate  just  as  his  horses  fell  dead.  He  turned 
to  help  his  mistress  out  of  the  sleigh,  and  then  he  found, 
to  his  horror,  that  she  was  not  there.  The  wolves  had 
dragged  her  out  and  eaten  her,  and  he,  in  the  noise  and 
confusion,  did  not  know  it  till  then.  The  following  day 
they  found  her  bones  and  her  clothing  scattered  over 
the  plain." 

"  Oh,  how  shocking  !"  cried  Julia,  covering  her  face 
with  her  hands,  as  though  to  shut  out  the  image  of  the 
perfidious  aunt  being  torn  to  pieces  by  wolves. 

"  Yes,  it  was  very  shocking  ;  but  the  worst  is  to  come." 
"  Worse  than  that  !     Did  Count  John  kill  himself  ?" 


A  JOKE   OR  A   CRIME?  185 

Lai  was  a  natural-born  story-teller.  She  had  carefully 
kept  back  the  acme  for  its  proper  place  at  the  end,  and 
had  skilfully  concealed  certain  facts  which,  but  for  her 
method,  would  have  lessened  the  interest  of  her  listener. 
But  the  crisis  was  now  to  come. 

"  Worse  and  better.  Count  John  did  not  kill  him- 
self, but  he  had  been  very  weak  and  foolish  to  allow 
himself  to  be  deceived  by  the  aunt,  for  it  was  found  out 
that  the  Countess  Louisa  had  always  been  faithful,  and 
that  she  had  not  written  the  letter  at  all,  but  that  it  had 
been  forged  by  her  aunt,  who  was  really  in  love  with 
Count  John,  and  who  was  wicked  enough  to  do  all  kinds 
of  dishonorable  things  to  separate  him  from  the  Countess 
Louisa.  In  a  few  weeks  the  Count  John  Tyscovicius 
and  the  Countess  Louisa  Karpinski  were  married  ;  but 
he,  though  a  young  man,  always  remained  gray-haired 
and  gray-bearded,  and — " 

A  smothered  groan  and  the  sound  of  something  falling 
heavily  caused  Lai  to  turn  to  where  her  aunt  had  stood, 
but  where  she  stood  no  longer,  for  her  senseless  body  lay 
a  motionless  mass  upon  the  floor. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A    SOCIETY    QUESTION. 

THE  acceptance  of  the  professorship  of  physiology  in 
the  "  Martha  Washington  Medical  College  for  Women," 
by  Mrs.  Geoffrey  Moultrie,  was  an  event  which  caused 
no  small  amount  of  commotion  in  the  fashionable  and 
unfashionable  worlds  of  New  York  and  the  country  at 
large.  The  secular  press  had  noticed  the  fact  in  terms 
of  high  commendation  ;  the  medical  journals  were  di- 
vided. One  portion — that  representing  the  progres 
sive  section  of  the  profession — spoke  of  it  approvingly, 
and  predicted  that  the  new  professor  would  still  further 
extend  her  reputation  as  a  skilful  and  original  investiga- 
tor, besides  advancing  the  cause  of  science.  The  other 
portion — speaking  for  the  conservative  and  more  numer- 
ous division — predicted  failure,  and  declared  that  physiol- 
ogy was  one  of  those  things  that  no  woman  could  expect 
to  study  either  with  advantage  to  herself  or  to  scientific 
medicine.  It  called  attention  to  the  alleged  fact  that 
woman  was  wanting  in  exactness  in  her  mental  proc- 
esses ;  that  she  was  prone  to  jump  at  conclusions  ;  that 
she  was  not  capable  of  weighing  evidence  and  of  decid- 
ing irrespective  of  her  likes  and  dislikes ;  and  while  it 
was  perhaps  possible  that  certain  chairs  in  a  medical  col- 
lege for  women  might  be  moderately  well  filled  by  her, 
physiology  was  the  one  of  all  others  for  which  she  was 
utterly  unsuited.  The  Medical  and  Surgical  Erebus 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  187 

was  especially  severe  upon  the  appointment.  This  rep- 
resentative of  conservatism  in  medicine  was  edited  by 
Dr.  McPheeters,  whose  views  upon  the  subject  of  women- 
physicians  are  already  known  to  the  reader.  This  gentle- 
man denounced  the  appointment  in  unmeasured  terms. 
He  declared  that  Mrs.  Moultrie's  previous  researches  were 
of  no  consequence  ;  that  her  experiments  in  evolution 
were  ridiculous  ;  that  the  result  of  her  investigations  rela- 
tive to  the  nerve-force  had  never  been  accepted  by  physi- 
ologists as  at  all  worthy  of  being  incorporated  into  the 
science  of  physiology,  and  that  if  there  must  be  women- 
physicians — a  necessity  that  he  did  not  believe  existed — 
the  proper  teachers  were  men,  who  had  the  ability  and 
the  nerve  to  conduct  such  experiments  as  were  needed 
to  demonstrate  the  facts  of  the  science.  As  for  him,  he 
was  already  of  the  opinion  that  no  woman  could  study 
physiology  without  experiencing  a  loss  of  the  delicacy 
of  sentiment  which  should  characterize  her.  No  useful 
purpose  was  subserved  by  teaching  a  school-girl  where 
her  liver  was,  or  that  she  had  such  an  organ  as  a  spleen, 
or  that  there  were  two  hemispheres  of  the  brain,  or  other 
anatomical  knowledge,  the  possession  of  which  simply 
tended  to  destroy  her  proper  feminine  mental  character- 
istics, without  giving  her  any  adequate  return  for  the  loss. 
Then  he  mailed  a  copy  of  the  Medical  and  Surgical 
Erebus  to  Moultrie,  and  another  to  his  wife,  and  walked 
up  Fifth  Avenue  looking  more  colicky  than  ever. 

But  in  "  social  circles"  the  discussion  was  still  more 
acrid,  and  was  maintained  for  a  much  longer  period. 
Without  ever  having  been  in  an  ultra-fashionable  set, 
whose  whole  minds  are  devoted  to  a  continual  round  of 
gayety  and  dissipation,  the  Moultries  had  always  occu- 
pied a  position  in  society  among  the  very  best  people  in 


188  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

the  city  of  New  York.  That  they  did  not  go  to  any  of 
the  semi-public  balls  or  to  many  of  the  private  ones  was 
simply  because  they  did  not  affect  that  kind  of  amuse- 
ment. They  went  to  a  few  dinner-parties  every  winter, 
given  by  people  whom  they  liked,  and  at  which  they 
were  sure  of  meeting  individuals  noted  for  something 
else  besides  the  possession  of  city  lots  and  railroad  stocks, 
and  they  gave  half  a  dozen  or  so  in  return,  at  each  of 
which  men  or  women  who  had  honorably  distinguished 
themselves  in  science,  literature,  or  art  were  certain  to  be 
found. 

Moultrie,  although  democratic  in  everything  relating 
to  the  rights  of  the  people,  was  very  tenacious  of  his 
position  as  a  member  of  the  aristocracy  of  education. 
He  would  no  more  have  thought  of  admitting  to  his 
house  the  Fifth  Avenue  millionaire  who  knew  nothing 
but  dollars,  and  who  had  done  nothing  but  pile  up  wealth 
by  sharp  practices,  than  he  would  have  held  social  fel- 
lowship with  a  coal-heaver.  Indeed,  if  the  latter  could 
by  any  possibility  have  been  a  refined  and  educated  per- 
son, he  would  not  have  hesitated  a  moment  in  meeting 
him  on  socially  equal  terms.  But  ignorance  and  vul- 
garity were  repulsive  to  him,  especially  in  those  who, 
having  acquired  wealth,  made  pretensions  to  gentility 
which  neither  their  origin  nor  their  education  warranted. 

Now,  it  was  chiefly  among  this  latter  class  that  adverse 
criticisms  on  Theodora's  course  abounded.  Miss  Sorby, 
for  instance,  who  had  been  so  very  hard  on  Hachel 
Meadows  when  she  took  to  making  her  own  living  by 
her  brain  work,  whose  grandfather  had,  as  we  know, 
been  a  truck-driver,  and  whose  grandmother  had  retailed 
apples  from  a  stand  in  the  Bowery,  did  not  see  how  any 
lady  could  continue  to  notice  Mrs.  Moultrie  or  touch  a 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  189 

hand  that,  "  for  all  we  know,  my  dear,"  as  she  talked 
the  latter  over  in  her  opera-box  with  her  friend  Miss 
Boggs,  whose  father  had  been  a  deck-hand  on  a  ferry- 
boat, "  may  not,  five  minutes  before,  have  dabbled  in 
human  gore." 

"  Yes,  or  who  has  just  been  talking  about  livers  and 
lights  and  all  them  things  to  a  lot  of  old  maids." 

"  There  she  is  now  in  her  box,  with  her  husband  and 
step-daughter.  You'd  think,  to  look  at  her,  that  butter 
wouldn't  melt  in  her  mouth  ;  but  1  guess  she's  thinking 
of  all  them  horrid  things  she's  going  to  talk  about  to- 
morrow. ' ' 

"  Well,  ma  says  she'll  never  ask  her  to  our  house 
again.  We  called  soon  after  she  came  to  the  city,  for  pa 
owned  some  of  the  railroads  that  Mr.  Moultrie  worked 
on,  and  we  thought  we'd  be  civil  to  'em  ;  but  she  only 
sent  cards  in  return  the  next  day  ;  and  though  we  asked 
'em  to  our  receptions,  she  never  had  the  decency  to 
come  or  to  invite  us  to  her  house." 

"  How  rude!  For  my  part,"  said  Miss  Sorby,  "1 
hate  vulgarians,  and  now  I  guess  she'll  go  down  out  of 
notice.  Of  course  she's  rich,  but  mere  riches,  my 
dear,"  tossing  her  narrow  head  as  she  spoke,  "  don't  go 
for  much  in  our  set.  Pasdetout" 

"  Well,  I  declare  !"  exclaimed  Miss  Boggs,  whose 
opera-glass  had  been  levelled  at  the  Moultries'  box,  "  if 
that  isn't  disgraceful  !  There's  the  French  Minister  and 
Prince  Bromkouski  setting  in  their  box.  Pa  and  my 
brother,  Maximilian  von  Wied,  left  cards  on  them  yes- 
terday. I  suppose  they'll  call  to-morrow.  The  prince 
is  awful  rich.  But  I  think  after  this  I  shall  treat  them 
both  pretty  coldly." 

"  Oh,  the  prince  is  only  there,"  assented  Miss  Sorby, 


190  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  because  the  step-daughter  is  half  Polish  !  Her  mother, 
so  they  say,"  she  added,  with  sharp  emphasis,  "  was  a 
Polish  princess,  and  the  girl  was  lost  on  the  prairie,  or 
something  of  that  sort,  when  she  was  a  baby,  and  was 
only  found  again  about  a  year  ago.  For  my  part,  I 
don't  believe  much  in  them  long-lost  daughters.  Do 
you,  Maria  ?  No  impostures  of  that  sort  for  me,  I  thank 
you  !  I  don't  think  they  ought  to  be  tolerated  in  good 
society. ' ' 

"  Oh,  as  to  that !"  exclaimed  her  friend,  laughing  im- 
moderately, in  which  Miss  Sorby  joined,  "  I've  known 
whole  families  of  just  such  daughters  ;  but  then,  you 
see,  they  didn't  set  in  opera-boxes  with  their  so-called 
step-mothers.  Oh,  no,  not  at  all !" 

"  Neither  of  the  gentlemen  has  spoken  a  word  since 
they  entered  the  box,"  said  Miss  Boggs,  who  had  con- 
tinued her  observations.  "  I  guess  they  don't  find  their 
company  very  entertaining." 

"  Oh,  these  stuck-up  people  think  it  isn't  decent  to 
talk  at  the  opera  while  the  singing's  going  on.  What 
are  a  lot  of  opera-singers,  I'd  like  to  know,  that  we 
shouldn't  talk  before  them  ?  I'll  talk  where  I  please, 
and  laugh,  too,  if  I  want  to." 

"  Not  in  church  you  wouldn't,  Selina,"  remarked 
Miss  Boggs,  in  a  serious  tone  of  voice,  befitting  the 
solemnity  of  the  speech. 

"Well,  no,  of  course  not  in  church  ;  but  here  I'll  do 
it  as  much  as  I  like.  The  last  night  I  was  just  talking 
and  laughing  with  Billy  Barlow,  not  loud,  neither,  and 
a  man  setting  in  the  next  box,  who  came  with  them 
Abercrombies,  who,  I  may  say,  are  as  much  stuck-up  as 
the  Moultries,  tried  to  stare  me  out  of  countenance  ;  but 
the  more  he  stared  the  more  I  talked  and  laughed, 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  191 

and  at  last  he  gave  it  up  as  a  bad  job,  and  left  the 
box." 

""What  impudence!  I  wonder  you  didn't  tell  your 
brother. ' ' 

"  Oil,  Maximilian  von  "Wied  is  so  fiery  that  if  I  had 
told  him  there'd  have  been  a  row,  sure,  and  some  one 
would  have  got  hurt.  But  what  do  you  think  the  man 
did  ?  You  couldn't  guess  if  you  were  to  try  for  a  week. 
It  was  just  the  rudest  thing  I  ever  knew  of  in  my  life. 
He  went  out  and  complained  to  the  manager,  and  he 
sent  an  usher  to  tell  us  that  we  must  make  no  noise. 
And  when  I  said,  t  Suppose  we  talk  just  as  much  as  we 
please^  what  then  ? '  (  Well,  miss,'  said  the  fellow,  '  if 
you  keep  on  making  a  noise  I'll  have  to  complain  to  the 
policeman  in  attendance,  and  I  suppose  he'll  take  you 
out.'  " 

"  How  scandalous  !  I  never  heard  anything  quite  so 
bad  as  that." 

"  No,  my  dear,  nor  I,  either.  Pa  says  he's  going  to 
give  up  his  box,  and  that  he'll  never  take  it  again  as 
long  as  Stapleton  is  the  manager." 

"To  go  back  to  the  Moultries,"  said  Miss  Boggs, 
dropping  her  glass  arid  turning  away  from  the  stage  on 
which  Patti,  as  Annetta,  was  singing  in  the  duet  in  the 
second  act  of  Crispino  e  la  Commare.  "  They  say  that 
Mr.  Moultrie  is  very  much  opposed  to  his  wife  taking  a 
professorship  in  a  medical  college.  Tommy  Pincham 
told  me  last  night,  at  the  Philanthropists'  ball,  that 
Jimmy  Sandwich  told  him  that  he  had  it  from  good 
authority  that  Mr.  Moultrie  became  perfectly  infuriated 
when  he  heard  of  his  wife's  intention,  and  said  that  he 
would  just  as  soon  have  her  go  on  the  stage  as  an  actress 
as  to  have  her  teaching  and  becoming  a  public  character.' ' 


192  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

"  Yes,  I  heard  something  like  that,  only  he  said  he 
would  as  soon  have  his  wife  ride  in  a  circus  as  show  off 
in  a  medical  lecture-room.  I  had  it  from  Johnny  Mar- 
lin,  and  you  know  he  lives  next  door  to  the  Moultries." 

"  Well,  whatever  it  was,  it  was  bad  enough,  and  it 
seems  to  be  the  general  impression  that  it  will  end  in  a 
divorce.  I  heard  he  was  divorced  from  his  first  wife. 
I  wonder  how  they  ever  got  into  society  here  !" 

"  They'll  be  out  now,  pretty  soon,"  said  Miss  Sorby, 
after  a  careful  study  of  the  Moultrie  party  through  her 
lorgnette.  "  By  the  by,  did  you  ever  meet  with  a 
rather  original  character,  very  intelligent,  too — Miss  Billy 
Bremen  ?  She's  tolerably  wealthy,  seventy  or  eighty 
thousand  a  year  or  thereabouts,  daughter  of  a  prominent 
butcher,  who  died  several  years  ago,  leaving  her  all  his 
money.  She  isn't  in  society  at  all,  but  I  suppose  she 
will  be  some  of  these  days,  or  if  she  isn't,  her  children 
will  be." 

"  What,  that  little,  fat,  Dutch  thing  who  keeps  the 
butchers' -shop  on  Sixth  Avenue  ?" 

"  She  has  a  large  abattoir  at  Locust  Point,  and  a 
receiving  depot  in  Sixth  Avenue,  if  that's  what  you  call 
keeping  a  butcher-shop,"  answered  Miss  Sorby,  with  a 
little  irritation  in  her  voice.  "  I  admit  that  she's  little 
and  fat,  but  I  deny  that  she's  Dutch.  She's  of  German 
descent.  Well,  she  told  me  that  she  went  to  see  Mrs. 
Moultrie  on  a  matter  of  business,  and  that  she  was 
ordered  out  of  the  house  and  threatened  with  a  policeman 
by  her  ladyship  before  she  had  uttered  a  dozen  words." 

"  She  must  be  a  perfect  termagant." 

"  Yes  ;  she  is  even  worse  than  that  other  woman's- 
rights  woman,  Miss  Eachel  Meadows,  whom  1  had  the 
satisfaction  of  cutting  dead  some  time  ago." 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  193 

"  So  had  I,  and  I  enjoyed  it  mightily,  I  tell  you. 
The  idea  of  her  daring  to  attempt  to  keep  my  acquaint- 
ance after  going  about  the  country  lecturing." 

Just  then  the  curtain  fell,  and  the  two  young  ladies, 
relapsing  into  silence,  occupied  themselves  in  scanning 
with  their  opera- glasses  the  parties  in  the  various  boxes 
and  the  gentlemen  who  stood  in  the  aisles. 

But  in  a  higher  class,  though  by  no  means  a  more 
fashionable  one,  Theodora's  step  was  considered  from  a 
different  standpoint  from  that  in  which  it  was  regarded 
by  the  Misses  Sorby  and  Boggs  and  their  set.  Here  she 
had  many  warm  friends,  who  took  an  interest  in  what 
concerned  her,  and  who  liked  her  for  her  good  sense  and 
for  the  pleasure  they  derived  from  her  society.  By  most 
of  them  her  new  departure  was  regarded  with  regret, 
for  they  had  notions  in  relation  to  woman's  sphere  which 
were  altogether  incompatible  with  such  an  act  as  hers 
appeared  to  them  to  be.  They  thought  it  was  a  lower- 
ing of  the  high  standard  of  femininity  that  they  had 
erected,  and  that  they  conceived  a  woman  of  her  excel- 
lence and  prominence  should  endeavor  to  maintain,  for 
her  to  assume  a  position  that  required  her  to  act  a  part 
that,  so  far  as  their  knowledge  extended,  had  heretofore 
been  assigned  exclusively  to  men.  They  believed  that 
no  woman,  especially  a  married  woman,  and,  above  all, 
one  who  had  everything  about  her  to  make  her  life  hon- 
orable and  happy,  should  seek  outside  of  her  own  home 
for  a  field  upon  which  to  display  her  knowledge  or  to 
make  herself  useful,  unless  it  were  one  of  charity  or  be- 
nevolence. They  did  not  question  her  ability,  or  the 
honesty  of  purpose  by  which  she  was  actuated,  but  they 
did  doubt  her  possession  of  that  equable  temperament 
which,  up  to  this  time,  they  had  given  her  credit  for 
9 


194  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Laving.  There  was  no  intention  among  these  people  of 
dropping  her  acquaintance  ;  they  did  not  look  upon  her 
proposed  act  as  one  that  was  incompatible  with  her  posi- 
tion as  a  lady,  but  they  were  sincerely  grieved  that  she 
should  have  felt  called  upon  to  make  such  a  tremendous 
innovation  in  the  manners  and  customs  of  women  of 
gentle  breeding.  It  might  all  be  very  well  for  women- 
graduates  in  medicine,  who  had  sat  on  the  benches  with 
men-students  in  the  University  of  Zurich  or  of  that  of 
Paris,  to  give  lectures  in  a  medical  college.  Delicacy 
and  refinement  were  not  to  be  expected  in  them.  Like 
the  grapes  that  are  handled,  the  bloom  had  been  rubbed 
off,  and  it  would  not  be  any  greater  desecration  of  their 
womanly  natures  for  them  to  recapitulate  as  professors 
what  they  had  learned  as  pupils.  These  people,  sensible 
as  they  in  general  were,  seemed  to  be  incapable  of  grasp- 
ing the  idea  by  which,  Theodora  was  animated.  They 
had  travelled  so  long  in  one  rut  that  it  had  become  im- 
possible for  them  to  extricate  themselves  and  to  move 
once  more  over  unworn  ground. 

And  they  were  disposed  to  hold  Moultrie  responsible 
for  the  departure  from  the  system  of  social  observances 
that  Theodora  contemplated.  They  held  to  the  old- 
fashioned  idea  that  the  wife  should  be  completely  under 
her  husband's  influence,  at  least  so  far  as  concerned  her 
relations  with  the  world  outside  of  her  own  domicile. 
St.  Paul  had  declared  that  the  husband  was  the  head  of 
the  wife,  even  as  Christ  was  the  head  of  the  Church. 
Nothing,  they  thought,  could  be  stronger  than  this  asser- 
tion of  Scripture  ;  and  when  Mrs.  Castor,  whose  cousin 
was  a  bishop,  quoted  and  applied  it  with  great  unction 
one  day,  in  conversation  with  that  irreverent  old  lady, 
Mrs.  Pollux,  whose  father  had  been  a  blockade-runner, 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  195 

or  a  slave-trader,  or  a  pirate,  or  something  else  of  the 
kind,  and  was  told  in  reply,  "  Very  true,  my  dear  ;  but 
if  Christ  is  to  be  held  responsible  for  everything  the 
Church  has  done,  I  am  afraid  he  will  require  the  grace 
of  God  as  much  as  we  poor  sinners, "  she  was  shocked  at 
the  quasi  blasphemy,  but  her  opinion  was  not  in  the 
least  shaken. 

Both  ladies  were  at  the  opera  that  evening,  in  their 
respective  boxes,  and  Moultrie,  who  knew  them  very  in- 
timately, visited  them  in  turn  during  the  next  entr'act. 
First  he  entered  Mrs.  Castor's  box.  The  lady  did  not 
care  for  music  ;  it  was  a  bore  to  her  ;  but  she  went  to 
the  opera  because  it  was  the  proper  thing  to  do,  and 
because  Mr.  Castor  was  infatuated  with  it ;  but  whether 
with  the  music,  or  the  lady  singers,  or  the  coryphees, 
she  could  never  exactly  determine.  She  knew,  how- 
ever, that  he  did  not,  when  his  daughter  was  performing 
on  the  piano,  know  one  tune  from  another,  and  yet  at 
the  opera  he  clapped  his  hands  and  cried  "  Irava!" 
and  whispered  "  beautiful  !"  as  some  intricate  piece  of 
musical  pyrotechnics  was  let  off,  or  some  complicated 
Terpsiuhorean  performance  evolved  out  of  the  nether 
limbs  of  the  members  of  the  corps  de  ballet.  It  was  a 
little  suspicious,  especially  the  latter  circumstance,  but 
he  had  always  declared  that  it  was  not  the  dancing  that 
enraptured  him,  but  the  admirable  work  of  the  orchestra. 
Nevertheless  Mrs.  Castor  thought  that  it  was  just  possi- 
ble he  needed  watching  ;  so  she  had  an  additional  in- 
ducement for  attending  the  opera. 

She  greeted  Moultrie  very  warmly,  and  made  room 
for  him  by  relegating  young  Castor  from  the  chair  he 
was  occupying  next  to  her  to  one  at  the  back  of  the 
box,  where  he  was  out  of  the  way.  "  Sit  here,"  she 


196  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

said;  UI  am  so  glad  to  see  you.  "We — that  is,  Mr. 
Castor  and  I,  were  just  saying  how  well  Mrs.  Moultrie 
is  looking  to-night,  and  how  lovely  your  daughter  is. 
Is  she  to  be  brought  out  this  season  ?" 

"  No  ;  Mrs.  Moultrie  and  I  both  think  that  she  had 
better  not  have  her  mind  diverted  yet  awhile  from  more 
serious  subjects,  and  she  is  of  our  opinion.  Next  year 
will  be  time  enough.' ' 

"  Well,  don't  delay  it  too  long.  Girls,  as  Mr.  Castor 
says,  are  like  city  lots.  You  keep  them,  expecting  that 
business  will  reach  them  soon,  and  that  then  you  will 
sell,  when  suddenly  you  discover  that  trade  has  taken 
all  at  once  a  tremendous  jump,  and  has  skipped  them." 

Moultrie  smiled  at  this  characteristic  illustration,  for 
the  Castors  owed  much  of  their  prominence,  socially  and 
financially,  to  the  large  number  of  "  lots"  owned  by  the 
head  of  the  house. 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  that  for  Lalage,"  he  said.  "  As 
you  are  an  old  friend,  I  may  be  excused  for  telling  you 
that  her  fate  is  sealed." 

"  What,  engaged  to  be  married,  and  not  yet  out  in 
society  !" 

"  Yes  ;  she  was  engaged  before  she  left  Colorado." 

"  Will  it  be  considered  impertinent  if  I  inquire  who 
is  the  happy  man  ?" 

"  Not  at  all.  She  will  in  a  few  months  marry  the 
Count  John  Tyscovus  of  Poland,  or,  as  he  is  now,  the 
Hon.  John  Tyscovus,  Delegate  to  Congress  from  the 
Territory  of  Colorado." 

"  Tyscovus  !  Oh,  yes,  1  know  him  !  He  has  been, 
off  and  on,  a  good  deal  in  New  York  society.  His  father 
married  an  American  woman,  one  of  the  Pinkneys,  and 
he  has  a  large  fortune,  made  up  from  both  sides.  To 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  197 

think  of  his  turning  up  in  Colorado  as  a  Member  of 
Congress,  and  about  to  marry  your  daughter  !" 

"  Yes,  it  is  all  very  remarkable.  But  how  do  you 
like  the  opera  this  evening  ?" 

"  You  know  I  don't  care  much  for  music,  but  I  sup- 
pose it  is  all  very  fine,  if  one  may  judge  by  the  applause. 
Besides,  my  whole  mind  is  full  of  another  matter.  Will 
you  allow  me,  as  an  old  friend,"  she  continued,  laying 
her  hand  on  his  arm,  "  to  talk  with  you  a  little  about  it  ?' ' 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Castor,  you  may  talk  to  me  about  any 
subject  you  please.  Your  right  as  a  friend  is  indisput- 
able." He  knew  very  well  what  was  coming,  and  was 
rather  glad  than  otherwise  of  the  opportunity  to  set  his 
friends  right  in  regard  to  several  points  in  which  they 
were  clearly  wrong. 

"  Thanks.  You  will  not  misunderstand  my  motives, 
I  am  sure."  She  stopped  for  a  moment,  as  though 
thinking — as  she  probably  was — how  to  begin.  Then 
she  said  : 

"  You  are  blessed  with  a  lovely  woman  for  a  wife — one 
who  wins  the  hearts  of  all  who  know  her.  You  have 
given  her  all  that  is  calculated  to  make  her  life  happy 
— good  position,  wealth,  a  refined  home,  and  everything 
that  riches  and  taste  and  love  can  afford.  Besides,  and 
above  all  else,  you  are  a  home-man,  with  home-interests 
apparently  above  all  other  interests — that  is,  you  do  not 
spend  your  days  and  nights  at  your  club,  and  your  amuse- 
ments are  found  with  your  family.  Well,  now  I  hear 
that  your  wife  is  going  into  public  life  as  a  lecturer  in  a 
medical  college  for  women.  My  dear  friend,  you  will 
not  be  surprised  if  I  ask  why  is  this,  for  it  is  a  question 
that  is  on  the  lips  of  everybody  who  knows  you  or  her." 

"  It  is  not  likely,  my  dear  Mrs.  Castor,  that  you  could 


198  A 'STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

offend  me  by  showing  that  you  take  an  interest  in  me 
and  mine,  especially  when  you  accompany  your  question 
with  so  many  kind  expressions.  And  I  should  ill  repay 
your  goodness  were  I  to  refuse  to  answer.  You  did  not 
know  my  wife  before  her  marriage,  and  hence  much  of 
what  I  am  about  to  say  may  perhaps  be  a  surprise  to  you. 
My  wife,"  he  continued,  after  receiving  an  encouraging 
glance  from  Mrs.  Castor — and  they  were  now  alone  in 
the  box — "  was  educated  in  a  peculiar  way — entirely,  in 
fact,  by  her  father  and  a  Swiss  governess,  who  was  a 
graduate  in  medicine  of  the  University  of  Zurich.  While 
Theodora  was  yet  a  child  her  mother  died,  and  her 
father  became  imbued  with  certain  notions  relative  to 
women  and  their  proper  position  in  the  social  and  the 
political  worlds,  that  exercised  a  preponderating  influ- 
ence over  him  in  the  matter  of  the  education  of  his 
daughter.  He  had  her  taught  medicine  and  natural 
science,  especially  anatomy  and  physiology,  and  tried  to 
instil  in  her  a  desire  to  enter  politics.  Here,  however, 
law  was  against  him  ;  but  she  frequently  gave  lectures  to 
the  people  of  the  town  in  which  they  lived,  in  a  lyceum 
which  he  had  instituted  and  liberally  endowed. 

"It  was  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  under  such 
influences  her  mind  should  have  been  developed  in  a 
particular  direction,  and  that  she  should  have  acquired  a 
great  fondness  for  the  sciences  she  studied.  Her  intel- 
lect was  good  ;  few  men  have  more  equally-balanced 
minds  than  has  she,  and  she  possesses  also  that  greatest 
of  all  the  mental  faculties,  the  power  of  concentrating  her 
attention  upon  a  subject  and  of  keeping  it  there  till  she 
has  understood  it  thoroughly.  She  had  ample  opportu- 
nity for  several  years,  under  the  encouragement  of  her 
father  and  teacher,  to  study  and  investigate  to  her  heart's 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  199 

content.  A  laboratory  admirably  fitted  up  was  built, 
and  here  she  not  only  devoted  herself  to  the  acquirement 
of  existing  knowledge,  but  she  made  original  experi- 
ments that  have  materially  added,  as  all  physiologists 
admit,  to .  the  sum  total  of  established  facts  in  that 
science. 

"During  five  or  six  years  this  course  of  instruction 
and  study  were  kept  up.  She  became  more  than  ordi- 
narily proficient  in  medicine  ;  and  though  she  never 
attended  lectures  at  a  medical  college,  and  hence  never 
took  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  she  practised 
quite  extensively  among  the  women  and  children  of  the 
part  of  the  country  where  she  lived.  Physicians  have 
told  me  that  her  knowledge  was  far  above  that  of  the 
average  doctor,  and  that,  moreover,  she  possessed  a  de- 
gree of  tact  and  of  judgment  that  would  have  done  credit 
to  men  in  the  profession  of  twice  her  age  and  experience. 

"  1  suppose  it  is  hardly  possible  for  you,  my  dear  Mrs. 
Castor,  to  imagine  that  a  young  girl  of  good  family,  and 
reared  amid  all  the  luxuries  and  refinements  that  large 
wealth  can  give,  could  take  an  interest  in  such  subjects, 
or  that,  taking  it,  could  preserve  her  natural  sweetness 
of  character,  and,  above  all,  that  she  should  develop  into 
a  pure-minded,  gentle  woman,  whose  tastes  for  the 
beautiful  in  nature  and  art  should  be  as  well  marked  as 
though  she  had  been  brought  up,  for  instance,  under 
your  care.  It  would  be  difficult,  I  say,  for  you  to  con- 
sider the  possibility  of  such  a  thing,  for  to  do  so  requires 
a  kind  of  experience  that  you  have  never  had.  You 
might  as  well  be  called  upon  to  give  your  views  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  moon,  if  there 
are  any. 

"  And  I  am  free  to   confess  that  when  I  first  met 


200  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Theodora  Willis  my  prejudices  were  not  essentially 
different  from  those  that  now  actuate  you.  I  saw  that 
she  was  beautiful ;  I  felt  instinctively,  as  I  watched  her 
movements  and  heard  her  speak,  that  she  was  refined, 
modest,  and  free  from  those  disagreeable  peculiarities  of 
temper  or  disposition  that  so  many  young  women  of  the 
present  day  exhibit.  And  yet  when  I  learned,  as  I  did 
the  next  day,  in  casual  conversation  with  her  father, 
that  she  had  studied  medicine  and  had  dissected  '  all 
kinds  of  animals,  from  man  to  insects,'  I  was  shocked 
beyond  measure,  and  1  determined  that  I  would  never 
meet  her  again.  But  already  her  spell  was  around  me. 
I  did  meet  her  again,  and  many  times  ;  and,  little  by 
little,  my  prejudices  faded  away  before  the  light  of  in- 
dubitable facts,  and  then  I  knew  that  there  was  nothing 
good  or  pure  or  noble  in  womanhood  that  was  not  in 
Theodora  Willis.  I  recognized  then  the  grand  truth 
that  there  is  nothing  in  the  study  of  the  works  of  God, 
when  undertaken  with  pure  motives,  that  can  tend  to 
debase  the  mind,  either  of  man  or  of  woman  ;  but  that, 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  lifted  above  the  meannesses  and 
trivialities  of  life  to  a  plane  of  which  those  who  grovel 
in  ignorance  have  no  conception." 

"  Verily,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Castor,  "  '  thou  almost  per- 
suadest  me. '  Your  reasoning  is  good,  and  the  truth  of 
all  that  you  say  of  your  wife  is  unquestionable.  Doubtless 
Mr.  Castor  would  say  as  much  for  me  if  it  should  ever 
become  necessary,  but  up  to  this  time  I  have  never  dis- 
tinguished myself,  except,  perhaps,  for  my  dinner-parties. 
An  eminence  in  that  direction  requires  no  defence.  Now, 
my  friend,  go  on." 

"  After  our  marriage,"  continued  Moultrie,  "  my  wife 
gave  up  her  special  studies,  or  at  least  the  practical  part 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  201 

of  them,  though  she  has  always  continued  to  take  an  in- 
terest in  all  departments  of  natural  science.  I  have  done 
nothing  to  discourage  her,  for  I  knew  very  well  that  a 
mind  as  active  and  as  intelligent  as  hers  could  not  remain 
content  with  the  mere  satisfaction  of  its  emotional  part. 
I  felt  afraid,  too,  that  the  love  for  original  investigations 
and  for  a  more  thorough  identification  with  scientific 
pursuits  was  only  dormant,  and  I  have  been  expecting, 
ever  since  I  made  her  my  wife,  that  the  time  would 
come  when  the  longing  would  rise  to  the  surface.  "Well, 
it  came  when  she  was  offered  the  professorship  of  phys- 
iology in  the  '  Martha  Washington  Medical  College  for 
Women. '  I  saw  that  she  was  pleased,  but  I  also  saw 
that  she  was  resolved  to  allow  me  to  decide  for  her. 
One  word  from  me  would  have  stopped  the  whole  thing. 
Can  you  blame  me,  when  the  chief  object  of  my  life 
is  to  secure  her  happiness,  that  I  refused  to  interfere,  but 
that,  on  the  contrary,  I  gave  my  full  and  unreserved  ap- 
proval of  the  acceptance  ?" 

"  No,  my  friend,  so  far  as  your  relations  with  your 
wife  are  concerned  I  do  not  blame  you  ;  but  people  who 
live  in  the  world  are  obliged  to  sacrifice  something  to 
expediency.  They  cannot,  in  fact,  afford  to  disregard 
the  prejudices  of  those  among  whom  they  live.  For 
instance,  there  would  be  nothing  intrinsically  wrong 
in  my  walking  down  Fifth  Avenue  every  morning  at 
ten  o'clock  in  a  bathing-dress;  but  don't  you  suppose 
that  if  I  were  to  do  so  I  would  become  the  subject  of 
censure  or  ridicule  ;  that  I  would  attract  a  crowd  of  hoot- 
ing men  and  boys,  and  that,  probably,  although  I  had 
violated  none  of  the  canons  of  decency,  I  should  be  ar- 
rested by  the  police  ?" 

"  And  I  think,"  said  Moultrie,  laughing,  "  that  if  you 


202  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

did  such  a  tiling  from  pure  wantonness,  or  simply  for 
your  amusement,  or  for  the  sake  of  making  yourself  no- 
torious, that  you  ought  to  be  arrested.  You  have  chosen 
an  extreme  case,  but  I  will  accept  it.  Now,  suppose 
that  by  walking  down  Fifth  Avenue  every  day  at  ten 
o'clock,  clothed  in  a  bathing-dress,  you  improved  your 
mind  and  showed  other  women  how  they  could  improve 
theirs  ;  and  suppose,  further,  that  instead  of  being  a 
ridiculous  and  irrational  performance,  the  act  were  one 
necessary  to  the  understanding  of  the  noblest  works  of 
God — those  comprised  within  the  domain  of  organic 
nature,  from  man  down  to  the  lowest  vegetable  forms — 
would  it  not  be  your  duty  to  incur  the  derision  of  the 
ignorant  or  the  odium  and  contempt  of  the  malicious 
for  the  sake  of  the  objects  you  had  in  view  ?  Remember 
the  fate  of  all  reformers.  They  are  in  advance  of  their 
time.  In  the  Middle  Ages  we  burnt  them  at  a  stake  ; 
now  we  visit  them  with  social  ostracism.  My  wife  can 
endure  it,  and  with  God's  help  I  intend  that  she  shall 
not  falter  for  want  of  a  supporting  hand  from  me.  And 
as  to  society,  composed  as  it  is  in  New  York  of  elements 
two  thirds  of  which  are  beneath  the  contempt  of  edu- 
cated and  intelligent  people,  neither  I  nor  my  wife  will 
allow  its  action  one  way  or  the  other  to  disturb  our 
equanimity." 

Mrs.  Castor  was  silent  for  a  few  moments.  She  was 
evidently  much  moved  by  what  Moultrie  had  said  and 
by  his  manner  of  saying  it.  Had  he  observed  her  closely, 
he  would  have  seen  a  tear  in  each  eye  and  a  little  nervou^ 
twitching  about  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  which,  try  as 
she  would,  she  could  not  prevent.  His  hand,  the  one 
nearer  Mrs.  Castor,  rested  on  his  knee,  and  presently  he 
felt  her  touch  it. 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  203 

"  When  does  your  wife  begin  lier  lectures  ?  "  she  said, 
with  a  little  tremor  of  her  voice. 

"  To-morrow  at  three  o'clock.  I  shall  go  with  her  to 
the  college  and  stay  with  her  while  she  is  delivering  it. 
Being  her  introductory,  it  will  not  be  strictly  of  a  scien- 
tific character.  At  least,  not  deeply  so." 

"  May  I  go  with  you?"  As  she  said  these  words 
Moultrie  felt  her  hand  press  his  with  a  little  more  force. 

He  did  not  speak,  but  his  hand  turned  and  grasped 
hers,  and  he  gave  her  a  look,  which  was  all  the  answer 
she  needed. 

"  Then  if  you  will  allow  me,"  she  continued,  with- 
drawing her  hand  and  recovering  her  composure,  "  I  will 
take  lunch  with  you  at  two  o'clock,  and  you  shall  drive 
me  over  with  you  to  the  college.  My  friend,"  she  con- 
tinued, "  you  are  right.  Your  wife  is  a  heroine,  you  are 
a  hero,  and,  please  God,  we  will  fight  this  matter  through. 
Now  go  ;  there's  old  Mrs.  Pollux  looking  at  us  through 
her  glass  and  grinning,  and  if  you  stay  here  much  longer 
she  will  circulate  a  story  that  you  have  been  making  love 
to  me,  whereas  it  is  I  who  have  been  making  love  to  you." 

There  was  nothing  patronizing  in  Mrs.  Castor's  words 
or  manner.  She  was  not  the  woman  to  attempt  that  line 
with  a  man  like  Moultrie  ;  neither  was  he  a  person  to 
submit  to  it  from  anybody.  He  felt  that  she  had  been 
honestly  converted  from  her  way  of  thinking,  and  that 
she  intended  to  "  assist"  at  Theodora's  introductory,  not 
so  much  for  the  purpose  of  giving  countenance  to  her  as 
to  show  the  world  that  she  had  undergone  a  change  of 
views.  She  was  a  very  independent  woman.  She  could 
do  pretty  much  as  she  pleased  in  New  York,  and  be 
certain  of  having  any  number  of  servile  imitators.  Once 
lot  it  be  known  that  Mrs.  Castor  had  attended  Mrs. 


204  A   STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Moultrie's  introductory  lecture  on  physiology,  and  the 
opinions  of  a  hundred  women  which  now  hung  in  the 
balance  or  were  dead  against  women-lecturers  would  be 
firmly  settled  in  their  favor. 

Mrs.  Pollux  smiled  graciously  as  Moultrie  entered  her 
box,  and  holding  out  her  hand,  gave  him  a  vacant  seat 
on  one  side  of  her.  The  chair  on  the  other  side  was 
occuplied  by  General  Bluifum,  on  the  retired  list  of  the 
army,  who  had  attained  high  military  rank  by  pursuing 
the  discreet  policy  of  never  differing  with  his  superiors, 
and  by  staying  around  "Washington,  on  bureau  or  staff 
duty,  thus  keeping  the  u  powers  that  were"  constantly 
aware  of  his  existence — a  fact  which,  as  he  had  never 
been  under  fire,  and  probably  never  in  front  of  an  enemy 
in  the  field,  might  otherwise  have  passed  out  of  their 
memory.  The  two  gentlemen  bowed  to  each  other,  and 
Moultrie  having  taken  the  seat  indicated  to  him,  Mrs. 
Pollux  opened  her  batteries. 

She  was  Mrs.  Castor's  best  and  most  intimate  friend, 
though  tile  two  ladies  never  met  without  having  a  dis- 
pute, in  wliich,  owing  to  her  utter  indifference  and  reck- 
lessness as  to  what  she  said,  Mrs.  Pollux,  so  far  as  words 
went,  generally  had  the  better  of  it.  She  was  older 
than  Mrs.  Castor  by  at  least  ten  years,  having  been  fifty- 
one  at  her  last  birthday  ;  but  though  she  never  denied 
her  own  age,  she  insisted  with  the  utmost  vehemence 
that  "  Tilly  Castor  might  say  what  she  pleased,  but  if 
she  ever  saw  fifty- two  again  it  would  have  to  be  when 
her  soul  was  transmigrated  into  another  animal  younger 
than  the  one  that  now  held  it." 

"  I'm  coming  to  your  wife's  lecture  to-morrow  !"  she 
exclaimed,  almost  before  Moultrie  had  fairly  got  settled 
into  his  chair.  "  Indeed,  I  think  1  shall  attend  the 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  205 

whole  course  ;  I've  always  had  a  curiosity  to  know  why 
people  who  never  think  should  have  brains.  It  seems 
to  me  such  a  waste.  I've  been  asking  General  Bluffum, 
but  he  couldn't  tell  me.  By  the  by,  that  reminds  me 
that  as  often  as  I've  asked  General  Bluffum  for  infor- 
mation I've  never  succeeded  in  getting  any." 

u  If  you  would  ask  me  about  Egypt  now,"  said  the 
General,  u  I  could  tell  you  a  good  deal  about  it.  Spent 
last  winter  there,"  he  continued,  addressing  Moultrie. 
"  Brought  home  lots  of  embroideries,  brass-ware,  mum- 
mies, and  other  antiquities.  In  fact,  I  quite  spoiled  the 
Egyptians.  Ha  !  ha  !" 

"  Spoiled  the  Egyptians,  did  you  ?"  said  Mrs.  Pollux, 
a  little  sharply,  for  she  had  no  idea  of  allowing  the  Gen- 
eral to  join  in  the  conversation  she  wanted  to  have  with 
Moultrie.  "  Well,  they're  not  the  only  things  you've 
spoiled  in  your  time.  You're  fit  for  treasons,  strata- 
gems, and  spoils.  Had  him  that  time,"  she  continued, 
in  a  whisper  to  Moultrie.  ~^~^\ 

u  That's  because  I  have  no  music  in  mr  soul,';  replied 
the  Genera],  good-naturedly. 

"  Now,  whenever  I  hear  General  Bluffum  talking  about 
his  soul,"  growled  Mrs.  Pollux  to  Moultrie,  "  I  wish  I 
had  your  wife's  microscope  handy,  so  that  1  could  take  a 
peep  at  it.  Now,  tell  me  all  about  this  new  move  of 
your  wife's.  You  needn't  mind  Bluffum.  He  knows 
that  it  would  be  as  much  as  his  life's  worth  for  him  to 
repeat  anything  he  hears  in  this  box." 

u  There  is  nothing  to  tell,"  said  Moultrie,  smiling, "  ex- 
cept that  to-morrow  afternoon  at  three  o'clock  Mrs.  Geof- 
frey Moultrie  will  give  her  first  lecture  on  physiology." 

"And  do  you  approve  of  her  doing  so?"  said  Mrs. 
Pollux,  looking  him  straight  in  the  face. 


206  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Of  course  I  do.  In  the  first  place,  I  approve  of 
everything  she  does  ;  and  in  the  second  place,  she  does 
nothing  that  I  do  not  approve  of." 

"  Spoken  like  a  man  and  a  brother  !"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Pollux.  "  Give  us  your  hand  !  I  must  shake  it  after 
that.  You'll  hold  your  own  in  spite  of  'em.  They're 
a  bad  lot,  these  New  York  '  society  women/  as  they  call 
themselves — most  of  'em  are,  I  mean  ;  up  to-day  and 
down  to-morrow.  Giving  a  ball  at  Delmonico's  this 
week,  and  living  on  a  flat  in  Long  Island  City  the  next. 
And  for  the  '  loiks  o'  thim,'  as  my  coachman  says,  to  be 
conspiring  against  you  and  me  is  a  little  too  much — you 
whose  grandfather  was  a  general  in  the  Revolution,  and 
me  whose  father  commanded  the  Bolivian  navy  !  What 
time  do  you  go  ?  Why  can't  you  both  come  over  and 
lunch  with  me,  and  then  we'll  go  together." 

"  Mainly,  I  suppose,  because  Mrs.  Castor  is  coming  to 
lunch  with  us." 

"  Then  ask  your  wife  to  send  me  an  invitation  to  join 
you,  and  I'll  come  too,  and  we'll  all  go  together.  But 
you  don't  mean  to  tell  me  that  Tilly  Castor  is  going  to 
give  you  the  light  of  Tier  countenance  !' ' 

"  Mrs.  Castor  certainly  expects  to  be  present." 

"  The  inconsistent  old  thing  !  But  there  goes  the 
curtain,  and  we  mustn't  talk  any  more.  There  are  a 
couple  of  young  blackguards — that  Sorby  girl  and  that 
Boggs  ditto — in  the  next  box,  and  they've  done  nothing 
but  talk  about  you  all  the  evening.  They  kept  it  up  all 
the  time  the  singing  was  going  on,  and  I  heard  them 
bragging  how  they  had  stared  a  gentleman  out  of  coun- 
tenance who  tried  to  make  them  stop  by  looking  at 
them.  1  stopped  them,  but  not  by  looking  at  them. 
I  took  this,' '  showing  a  sharp  gold  pin,  some  four  inches 


A   SOCIETY   QUESTION.  207 

long,  and  with  a  head  made  of  a  single  large  diamond, 
61  out  of  rny  lace,  and  when  the  Sorby  girl  was  talking 
her  loudest  I  very  stealthily  stuck  it  about  an  inch  into 
the  small  of  her  back.  Lord  !  1  wish  you  could  have 
seen  her  jump.  She  knows  I  did  it,  but  she  can't  prove 
it,  and  she  knows  what  I  did  it  for.  She  hasn't  opened 
her  mouth  since.  Good-night.  Don't  forget  to  ask 
your  wife  to  invite  me  to  lunch,  and  we'll  show  'em 
who's  who  in  New  York." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

A   BEGINNING   AND   AN    END. 

THEODORA  had  made  several  visits  to  the  u  Martha 
Washington  Medical  College  for  Women,"  and  had  be- 
come familiar  with  the  arrangements  which  the  founders 
of  that  institution  had  established  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  objects  they  had  in  view.  The  building  had  been 
erected,  at  considerable  cost,  for  the  special  purpose  of  a 
medical  college,  and  was  far  better  supplied  with  the  re- 
quirements of  such  a  structure  than  are  most  of  those 
used  for  the  like  object  by  the  opposite  sex.  She  had 
thus  often  been  brought  into  intimate  association  with 
Rachel  Meadows,  and  had  also  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Miss  Richardson,  who,  though  not  a  graduate  in  medi- 
cine, or  even  a  systematic  student  of  the  science,  had 
attended  several  of  the  courses  of  lectures,  in  order,  as 
she  said,  to  make  herself  acquainted  with  those  branches 
of  knowledge  which,  as  she  declared,  every  educated 
person,  man  or  woman,  ought  to  know  something  about. 
She  had  announced  her  intention  of  attending  all  the 
lectures  to  be  delivered  by  Mrs.  Moultrie. 

In  order  to  show  their  appreciation  of  Theodora's 
acquirements,  and  probably  also  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
viding for  uniformity  in  the  titles  held  by  the  several 
members  of  the  Faculty,  the  trustees  had  conferred  upon 
her  the  honorary  degree  of  "  Doctor  of  Medicine." 
She  smiled  when  she  was  called  "  Doctor"  for  the  first 


A1  BEGINNING   AND  AN  END.  209 

time,  and  she  soon  discovered  that  she  was  to  receive 
that  handle  to  her  name  whenever  she  was  addressed  by 
any  one,  officer  pr  student,  connected  with  the  college. 

The  class  in  attendance  was  a  large  one/and  was  made 
up  not  only  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  but  from 
other  countries  of  America,  North  and  South,  as  well 
as  of  a  sprinkling  from  Europe.  Most  of  them  were 
women  who  had  passed  the  heyday  of  their  youth,  but 
there  were  several  who  were  not  yet  out  of  their  teens, 
and  a  few — though  not  many,  it  must  be  confessed — who 
were  possessed  of  great  personal  beauty. 

The  morning  of  the  20th  of  November,  1874,  opened 
auspiciously.  The  day  was  clear,  cool,  and  crisp,  and 
Theodora  was  in  such  a  condition  of  Men  aise  as  to  admit 
of  the  same  adjectives  being  applied  to  her.  She  had 
worked  hard  at  the  preparation  of  her  lecture,  but  at  the 
same  time  so  systematically  that  she  felt  no  fatigue. 
She  had  one  of  those  minds  in  which  subjects  are,  as  it 
were — to  use  the  simile  of  an  eminent  scholar — laid 
away  on  shelves  or  hung  up  on  pegs,  ready  for  service 
when  needed.  It  was  not  much  trouble  for  her  to  get 
them  down  and  to  bring  them  into  use  when  required. 
Then  when  she  had  gotten  them  all  arranged  in  the  order 
she  intended  she  went  to  the  opera,  as  we  have  seen,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  her  life  Lai  went  with  her. 

But  although  she  was  ready,  and  felt  that  confidence 
in  herself  which  the  person  who  has  mastered  what  he 
or  she  is  about  to  discuss  always  feels,  and  although  she 
had  no  doubt  in  regard  to  her  ability  to  communicate  her 
knowledge  to  others,  she  did  not  underrate  the  impor- 
tance of  the  step  she  was  about  to  take.  She  felt,  indeed, 
as  though  upon  her  had  fallen  the  task  of  showing  to  the 
world  that  it  was  not  requisite  that  a  woman  who  de- 


210  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

sired  to  live  an  active  scientific  life  should  cut  herself  off 
from  those  associations  which,  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
had  been  regarded  as  hers  by  right  of  custom  and 
nature.  So  far  as  she  knew,  no  woman  situated  as  she 
was  had  ever  occupied  a  chair  in  a  medical  college. 
There  had  been  women-professors — in  fact,  there  were 
three  in  the  college  with  which  she  was  connected,  the 
others  being  men — but  they  were  all  either  single  women 
well  advanced  in  years,  who  had  given  up  all  ideas  of 
marriage,  or  widows  without  any  immediate  family  ties. 
However,  there  was  no  denying  the  fact  that  none  of 
them  was,  either  by  manners  or  education,  such  a  person 
as  she  would  have  chosen  as  her  social  companion  or 
acquaintance.  All  of  them  were  disorderly  in  their 
dress  and  had  certain  offensive  habits  that  would  have 
ruled  them  out  of  good  society. 

Thus,  Dr.  Susan  Pike,  who  held  a  prominent  chair  in 
the  school,  and  who,  so  far  as  her  medical  knowledge  went, 
was  probably  competent  to  teach  the  branch  assigned 
to  her,  indulged  in  the  use  of  "  chewing  gum"  to  such 
an  extent  that  not  only  were  her  jaws  kept  in  perpetual 
motion,  even  when  she  was  not  talking,  but  the  secretions 
of  the  salivary  glands  were  so  materially  augmented  above 
all  normal  standards,  that  she  was  obliged  to  spit  every 
two  or  three  minutes.  On  account  of  this  habit  she  was 
known  among  the  lady-students  as  the  "  Llama,"  and  a 
bright  girl  in  the  class  had  drawn  a  caricature  of  her  as 
one  of  these  useful,  though  disagreeable,  animals,  stand- 
ing in  the  amphitheatre  and  giving  a  lecture,  with  a  big 
spittoon  hung  around  her  neck. 

Another,  Dr.  Marie  Antoinette  Billings,  an  elderly 
lady,  who  had  buried  two  husbands,  and  had  then  taken 
up  the  study  of  medicine,  had  had  several  severe  contests 


A   BEGINNING  AND   AN   END.  211 

with  medical  societies  in  the  effort  to  obtain  recognition 
from  the  male  members  of  the  profession.  There  was 
nothing  at  all  singular  in  Dr.  Billings's  assumption  of 
the  doctorate  beyond  the  fact  that  she  was  a  woman. 
Nevertheless,  in  her  own  city,  Philadelphia,  she  had  been 
refused  admission  into  the  county  medical  society  on  no 
other  ground  than  that  of  her  sex.  Whereupon  she  had 
shaken  the  dust  of  the  Quaker  City  from  her  feet  and 
had  removed  to  New  York,  where,  notwithstanding  the 
factious  opposition  of  Dr.  McPheeters  and  his  "  gang," 
as  she  called  them,  she  had  been  admitted  to  full  fellow- 
ship. Although  nearly  fifty  years  of  age  when  she 
began  the  study  of  medicine,  she  had  acquired  a  sound 
knowledge  of  its  principles,  and  her  experience,  espe- 
cially in  the  department  of  children's  diseases,  was  very 
considerable.  Her  success  had  been  somewhat  remark- 
able, for  her  personal  characteristics,  to  those  of  delicate 
sensibilities,  were  not  pleasant.  She  was  nicknamed 
"  Saint  Eufraxia,"  who,  as  the  legend  states,  was  a  holy 
woman  belonging  to  a  convent  of  one  hundred  and  thirty 
nuns,  not  one  of  whom  ever  washed  her  feet.  The  very 
mention  of  a  bath  was  an  abomination  to  these  good 
ladies.  Whether  or  not  Dr.  Marie  Antoinette  Billings 
carried  matters  as  far  as  did  Saint  Eufraxia  and  her  com- 
panions, it  was  very  evident  that  she  possessed  the  "  odor 
of  sanctity"  to  such  a  degree  as  to  make  her  room  better 
than  her  company. 

Then  there  was  Dr.  Libby  Johnson,  a  lady  who  had 
passed  the  meridian  of  her  life  in  single  blessedness,  wno 
was  very  angular  in  her  movements  and  postures,  very 
untidy  in  her  person,  very  precise  in  her  speech,  and 
very  ignorant  of  the  first  glimmering  of  the  idea  of 
the  subject — Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics — which 


212  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

she  had  undertaken  to  teach  to  the  suckling  feminine 
Galens  at  the  u  Martha  Washington  Medical  College  for 
Women." 

How  Dr.  Libby  Johnson  had  succeeded  in  getting  a 
diploma  was  never  known.  That  she  had  one,  and  from 
a  respectable  college,  was  undoubted,  for  the  governing 
powers  of  the  school  were  exceedingly  strict  in  their 
ideas  of  regularity,  and  "  out-Heroded  Herod"  in  their 
adhesion  to  the  code  of  ethics  of  the  American  Medical 
Association,  just  as  the  Canadians,  who  are  left  out  in 
the  cold,  are  more  loyal  to  the  throne  than  the  English 
themselves. 

But  it  was  very  certain  that  she  was  not  qualified  to 
fill  the  chair  that  she  held.  She  managed,  however,  to 
recapitulate  verbatim  the  views  of  writers  who  knew 
what  they  were  writing  about.  All  her  lectures  were 
written  out  in  full,  and  had  been  copied  from  authorities 
whose  teachings  might  safely  be  followed. 

She  had  obtained  her  appointment  through  the  per- 
sonal influence  of  a  wealthy  lady,  who  had  given  ten 
thousand  dollars  for  the  endowment  of  the  chair,  on  con- 
dition that  Dr.  Libby  Johnson  should  be  the  first  occu- 
pant. Now  the  trustees  were  beginning  to  take  legal 
advice  as  to  their  power  to  remove  Dr.  Libby  without 
forfeiting  their  endowment,  with  a  strong  prospect  of  a 
favorable  opinion  on  the  point. 

Her  peculiarity  was  an  infirmity  rather  than  a  fault, 
but  it  was  one,  nevertheless,  that  caused  her  to  live  a  life 
of  comparative  isolation,  both  on  her  own  account  and 
that  of  others.  She  was  afflicted  with  a  species  of  St. 
Yitus's  dance  of  the  muscles  of  the  face,  so  that  she 
was  either  winking  or  grinning  or  exhibiting  some  other 
expressional  manifestation  all  the  time  that  she  was  in 


A  BEGINNING  AND   AN  END.  213 

company,  unless  she  preserved  a  state  of  silence  and  of 
indifference  in  regard  to  what  was  being  said  or  done  in 
her  presence.  The  very  moment  that  she  opened  her 
mouth  to  speak,  that  instant  her  eyelids,  the  corners  of 
her  mouth,  and  her  nose  began  to  work.  She  had  even 
been  known,  when  under  more  than  usual  excitement,  to 
"  wag  her  left  ear;"  but  ordinarily  the  twitchings  did 
not  extend  so  far  as  that  organ.  It  was  very  provoking, 
however,  to  her  and  others,  that  when  some  particularly 
serious  remark  had  been  addressed  to  her  she  should,  be- 
fore answering,  elevate  her  brows  and  wink  her  eyes, 
as  though  expressing  surprise  and  doubt.  Indeed,  the 
affliction  would,  but  for  her  years,  have  excited  the 
censorious  remarks  of  the  ignorant  and  the  malicious. 
As  it  was,  when  a  young  gentleman  had  picked  up  her 
fan  which  she  had  dropped,  and  was  repaid  by  a  kind 
glance  and  a  wink  of  her  right  eye,  old  Miss  Scribner, 
who  saw  the  whole  thing,  was  loud  in  her  denunciation 
of  a  woman  "  old  enough  to  be  his  grandmother." 

Such  were  the  women  members  of  the  Faculty.  As 
to  the  men,  the  less  said  of  them  the  better.  They  were 
commonplace  in  every  way.  But  then,  so  little  ability 
and  knowledge  are  absolutely  requisite  in  a  professor  in 
a  medical  college,  that  they  got  along  quite  as  well  as 
many  of  their  brethren  in  more  pretentious  institutions. 

It  was  one  o'clock  ;  Mrs.  Castor  and  Mrs.  Pollux  had 
arrived  in  time  for  lunch,  and  Moultrie  had  come  up  from 
his  office  to  join  them.  Both  ladies  were  profuse  in 
their  compliments  on  Theodora's  good  looks  and  the 
courage  she  was  showing.  She  had  spent  the  morning 
in  thinking  over  her  subject  and  in  familiarizing  herself 
with  her  thoughts,  so  as  to  get  them  into  good  working 
order,  to  have  them,  as  it  were,  at  her  tongue's  end,  ready 


214  A  STRONG  MINDED   WOMAN. 

for  use  the  instant  she  wished  to  enunciate  them.  She 
had  not  written  a  word  of  her  lecture,  nor  did  she  even 
intend  to  use  notes  in  its  delivery.  She  had  studied  it 
thoroughly  ;  she  was  satisfied  that  she  had  done  her  best, 
and  whether  it  fell  dead  or  took  the  public  by  storm 
were  alternatives  that  were  now  beyond  her  control. 

"  Are  we  not  to  have  your  lovely  daughter  with  us, 
Mr.  Moultrie  ?' '  said  Mrs.  Castor,  as  she  took  his  arm 
and  went  in  with  him  to  lunch. 

"  No  ;  I  was  just  asking  Mrs.  Moultrie  about  her. 
She  is  very  busy,  and  begs  to  be  excused." 

"  What  a  model  scholar  !  Does  she  allow  herself  no 
relaxation  from  her  labors  ?" 

uYes;  but  it  would  be  no  relaxation  for  her  to  be 
here,  and  especially  for  her  to  listen  to  her  mother's  lect- 
ure. This  evening  we  shall  all  talk  it  over." 

"  Do  you  know  that  there  will  be  an  immense  audi- 
ence ?  All  the  most  prominent  scientific  and  literary 
people  in  the  city  will  be  there,  and  any  number  of  per- 
sons who,  like  Mrs.  Pollux  and  myself,  know  nothing, 
but  who  go  because  we  are  anxious  to  see  how  a  woman 
conducts  herself  when  she  comes  to  deal  with  a  serious 
subject  like  physiology,  and  one,  too,  that  requires  such 
intense  application." 

"  I  have  no  fear  for  her,"  said  Moultrie,  glancing 
toward  his  wife,  his  face  expressing  the  pride  he  took  in 
her.  "A  woman  with  her  knowledge  need  never  be 
afraid  to  stand  up  before  the  most  learned  assembly  in 
the  land  and  tell  what  she  knows.  She  has  had  a  train- 
ing which,  if  I  had  had  one  half  so  good,  would  have 
been  greatly  to  my  advantage." 

"  Oh,  how  I  admire  your  confidence  in  her  !  If  men 
were  all  as  generous  and  as  true  as  you  are,  how  differ- 


A   BEGINNING   AND   AN   END.  215 

ent  we  women  would  be  !  1  have  seen  many  women — 
singers,  actresses,  ballet-dancers — make  their  debuts  be- 
fore crowded  assemblies,  and  face  the  ordeal  with  cour- 
age and  success,  and  I  have  witnessed  some  break  down 
and  retire  in  confusion  and  tears  ;  but  the  strain  in  such 
cases  was  not  so  severe  as  that  that  your  wife  will  experi- 
ence to-day." 

"  She  will  endure  it,  for  she  has  the  blood  and  the 
breeding  and  the  esprit  of  a  family  the  members  of 
which,  men  or  women,  have  never  quailed  in  the  face  of 
dangers  or  failed  in  the  face  of  difficulties." 

"  What  are  you  two  talking  about  so  mysteriously  ?" 
said  Mrs.  Pollux,  who  sat  on  the  other  side  of  Moultrie. 
"  Where  there  are  only  four  together  at  table  conversa- 
tion should  be  general.  Now,  let  me  tell  you  what  I've 
done.  I  went  out  this  morning  and  got  all — aU,  I  say — 
the  works  of  Herbert  Huxley  and  Tyndall  Spencer,  and 
I've  been  through  them.  The  consequence  is,  that  I 
wish  I  was  dead.  If  I  had  known  that  an  intelligent 
person,  such  as  I  think  I  may,  without  undue  vanity, 
say  1  am,  would  have  been  expected  to  read  those  books, 
I  would  never  have  been  willing  to  be  born.  Is  your 
lecture  to  be  about  such  things  as  cataplasm,  or  whatever 
you  call  it,  and  the  Lord  knows  what  else  besides  ?" 

"  Darwin,  and  Huxley,  and  Tyndall,  and  Spencer  are 
our  masters,"  answered  Theodora,  smiling.  "  Take 
some  of  that  pat/.  I  know  you  like  English  pheasants, 
and  when  1  heard  you  were  going  to  be  kind  enough  to 
lunch  with  us  I  ordered  the  dish  for  your  special 
benefit." 

"  Yes,  and  1  find  I  am  being  plied  with  wine,  too, 
doubtless  for  the  purpose  of  putting  me  into  such  a  con- 
dition as  will  prevent  me  understanding  your  lecture. 


216  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

But  you  may  spare  your  Chablis  and  your  Lafitte  and 
your  Pommery  sec,  so  far  as  Mrs.  Castor  and  I  are  con- 
cerned. My  mind — and  hers,  too,  although  she  will 
swear  she  knows  all  you  are  going  to  speak  about — is  as 
blank  as  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  all  the  wine  in  France 
couldn't  make  it  blanker." 

"  Speak  for  yourself,  Carry,  please,"  said  Mrs.  Castor. 
"  It  would,  we  know,  be  almost  impious  for  any  one  to 
attempt  to  make  an  impression  on  your  mind.  It  would 
look  like  endeavoring  to  contravene  the  eternal  decrees 
of  the  Almighty.  As  for  me,  I  happen  to  be  familiar 
with  the  teachings  of  the  great  men  whose  very  names 
you  have  confused,  and  I  feel  myself  capable  of  under- 
standing Mrs.  Moultrie's  lecture." 

Never  had  Mrs.  Pollux  been  answered  by  her  friend 
with  so  much  spirit  as  now.  For  a  moment  she  regarded 
her  with  an  expression  of  utter  astonishment  on  her  face. 
Then  she  burst  out : 

"  Hoighty-toighty  !"  she  exclaimed.  "  The  worm 
has  actually  turned  !  But  no,  no,"  with  a  melancholy 
shake  of  her  head  and  a  ludicrous  dropping  of  the  cor- 
ners of  her  mouth,  as  though  she  were  about  to  burst  into 
tears  ;  "  I  see  how  it  is  :  '  Much  learning  has  made  thee 
mad.'  Well,  well,  as  the  Member  of  Congress  from 
the  Puddlefield  district  remarked  the  other  day  in  de- 
bate, <Ef  I  hadn't  'a'  seed  it  I  wouldn't  V  knowed 
it.'" 

"  I  shall  not  notice  her  further,"  said  Mrs.  Castor, 
sotto  voce,  to  Theodora.  "  She's  a  vulgar  old  woman, 
and  a  thorough  fraud." 

Nevertheless,  when  they  left  the  table  to  enter  Mrs. 
Moultrie's  landau — they  had  sent  away  their  own  car- 
riages— they  were  "  Tilly -ing  "  and  "  Carry-ing"  each 


A   BEGINNING  AND   AN  END.  217 

other  as  though  there  had  never  been  a  cross  word  be- 
tween them. 

"When  they  arrived  at  the  college  they  saw,  from  the 
long  string  of  carriages  waiting  on  either  side  of  the 
street,  that  already  a  large  audience  was  in  attendance. 
Moultrie  and  his  wife  ascended  the  steps  and  entered  the 
building.  Mrs.  Castor  and  Mrs.  Pollux  lingered  behind 
to  scrutinize  the  carriages  and  the  liveries,  in  the  effort  to 
discover  who  were  present.  It  did  not  take  them  long, 
and  they  hurried  to  overtake  the  others,  who  were  wait- 
ing for  them  in  the  vestibule.  "  My  dear,"  whispered 
Mrs.  Pollux  in  Theodora's  ear,  "  everybody  is  here — 
everybody  !  I  never  saw  the  like  of  it  before.  You'll 
not  only  have  wealth,  but  you'll  have  science  and  art, 
literature  and  politics,  to  listen  to  you.  Oh,  you  dear,  I 
could  just  hug  you  to  death  for  joy  !" 

u  Wait  till  my  lecture  is  over,"  said  Theodora,  smiling. 
"  Perhaps  then  you  will  want  to  do  it  to  revenge  your- 
self." 

Then  an  usher  came  and  conducted  them  into  a  room, 
from  which  a  passage-way  led  to  the  rostrum,  and  which 
had  been  specially  reserved  for  Theodora  and  her  party. 
A  noisy  orchestra  was  performing  a  selection  of  operatic 
airs,  for  the  lecture  was  not  only  the  introductory  to 
Theodora's  course  on  physiology,  but  was  the  opening 
one  of  the  session,  and,  as  was  usual  on  such  occasions, 
the  trustees  had  lugged  in  music  to  add  to  the  attractions 
of  the  event — a  custom,  perhaps,  better  honored  in  the 
breach  than  in  the  observance. 

There  were  yet  about  five  minutes  before  the  hour  for 
beginning.  Theodora  wished  that  she  could  be  alone 
with  her  husband,  for  her  two  garrulous  friends  kept  up 

a  running  fire  of  comments  on  the  audience,  which  they 
10 


218  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

were  surveying  through  a  convenient  peep-hole,  and 
disturbed  her  thoughts.  It  can  scarcely  be  said  that  she 
was  not  interested  in  knowing  who  were  to  hear  her  ;  but 
certainly  her  two  friends  exceeded  her  in  this  respect. 
Each  new  accession  of  some  distinguished  man  or  woman 
was  noted  by  them,  and  was  the  subject  of  delighted 
comment.  It  was  quite  evident,  both  to  Moultrie  and 
his  wife,  that  the  ladies  were  greatly  relieved  in  mind 
by  finding  that  they  were  not  the  only  "  leaders  of 
society"  to  give  their  countenance  to  this  new  departure 
of  one  of  their  number,  and  equally  so,  now  that  they 
saw  what  a  splendid  indorsement  the  lecturer  would 
probably  receive,  that  they  were  anxious  not  only  to  keep 
in  the  advance,  but  to  assume  the  directorship. 

"  As  I  live  !' '  exclaimed  Mrs.  Pollux,  whose  eye  was  at 
the  peep-hole,  "  if  there  isn't  Mr.  Carp.  He  must  have 
come  all  the  way  from  Washington  on  purpose.  Yes, 
and  there  are  Mr.  Hurse,  and  Mr.  Bolster,  and  General 
Marquand,  and  Bishop  Crocker  ;  to  think  he  should  come 
out  to  hear  you  !  My  dear,  that  is  an  honor — at  least, 
in  Tilly  Castor's  eyes.  Her  cousin  was  a  bishop,  you 
know.  As  to  doctors,  there's  no  end  of  them  ;  and  law- 
yers !  their  name  is  legion." 

"  If  you  have  quite  surveyed  the  audience,"  said  Mrs. 
Castor,  with  a  little  asperity,  "  perhaps  you  will  kindly 
allow  me  to  take  one  glance  before  we  go  on  the  stage." 

"  Certainly,  my  dear,"  replied  Mrs.  Pollux,  giving  up 
her  place,  ' '  only  it  is  a  platform  that  we  are  going  on. 
I'm  not  yet  quite  ready  to  go  on  the  stage.  As  to  you, 
my  love,  you've  been  such  an  actress  all  your  life,  that 
you  have  been  flattering  yourself  that  at  last  you  were 
about  to  appear  in  public.  But  it's  not  a  theatre,  dear. 
It's  only  a  medical  college." 


A   BEGINNING  AND   AN  END.  219 

Mrs.  Castor  took  possession  of  the  peep-hole  without 
deigning  a  reply  to  this  ill-natured  speech  of  her  friend's. 
She  looked  search  ingly  around  the  room  for  about  a 
minute.  Then  she  went  over  to  where  Theodora  was 
standing,  and  said  to  her  : 

"  My  dear  child,  such  an  assemblage  was  never  seen  in 
this  city  before  !  Everybody  who  is  anybody  is  here. 
Even  Mrs.  Stanhope,  who  never  goes  anywhere  unless 
she  is  certain  to  get  the  worth  of  her  trouble,  is  here  in 
all  her  glory.  And  then  there  are  Mrs.  Yander  Dunke 
— it  ought  to  be  D-o-n-k-e-y — and  her  two  daughters  ; 
Mrs.  Delancey  Darby  ;  the  French  minister  and  Madame 
de  Faux  ;  your  friend  Prince  Bromkouski,  and  that  odi- 
ous Miss  Gildersleeve,  dressed  like  a  man,  as  far  as  she 
dare  go,  and  looking  like  one,  too.  She's  got  her  note- 
book out,  and  she'll  serve  you  up  to-morrow  in  the  Tat- 
tler, no  matter  what  sort  of  a  lecture  you  give." 

Just  then  an  usher  appeared,  and  stated  that  the  trus- 
tees and  faculty  were  now  ready  to  enter  the  lecture- 
room.  Our  party  went  out  into  the  passage-way,  and 
were  there  met  by  the  head  of  the  procession.  A  lady 
whom  Theodora  knew  very  well,  Mrs.  Gilbert  Mowbray, 
the  President  of  the  Board,  approached  and  offered  her 
her  arm.  From  somewhere  or  other  Mr.  Castor  ap- 
peared and  gave  his  to  Mrs.  Pollux,  while  Moultrie 
escorted  Mrs.  Castor.  The  strains  of  the  orchestra  were 
now  heard  in  the  form  of  the  wedding-march  from 
Lohengrin^  the  doors  were  thrown  wide  open,  and  in  an 
instant  Theodora  found  herself  facing  a  thousand  peo- 
ple. A  round  of  applause  greeted  the  procession,  as  Mrs. 
Mowbray  and  Theodora  appeared,  which  was  continued 
till  the  whole  party  had  taken  their  seats  in  the  pre- 
scribed order  on  the  platform.  Then  the  music  ceased, 


220  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

the  Rev.  Paul  Stuart  Hardcastle  made  a  short  prayer, 
and  then  Mrs.  Mowbray,  as  President  of  the  college,  read 
an  address,  setting  forth  its  struggles,  its  triumphs,  and 
its  objects. 

While  the  reading  was  going  on  Theodora  took  the 
opportunity  of  looking  around  her.  She  saw  many  faces 
of  persons  she  knew,  all  wearing  a  kindly  expression. 
Among  them  was  that  of  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton,  of 
whose  admiration  for  Rachel  Meadows,  Moultrie  had 
told  her.  He  had  probably  come  there  as  much  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  again  the  woman  who  had  so  strongly 
impressed  him  as  to  hear  her  lecture.  Her  eyes  roved 
around  the  sea  of  upturned  faces.  Yes,  there  was  one 
that  was  not  friendly,  for  far  off  in  a  corner  was  Miss 
Billy  Bremen,  the  diamonds  in  her  ears  being  her  most 
conspicuous  feature,  though  the  scowl  on  her  broad  face 
was  as  marked  as  her  features  permitted  her  to  make  it. 

And  every  eye  was  turned  on  Theodora.  Never  had 
she  looked  more  beautiful  than  she  did  then.  Her  color 
was  perhaps  slightly  heightened  by  the  excitement  of  the 
occasion,  and  her  eyes  were  a  little  brighter ;  but  these 
changes  added  to  rather  than  detracted  from  her  appear- 
ance. Her  admirable  composure,  the  gentleness  yet 
dignity  of  her  bearing,  were  the  subjects  of  general  ad- 
miration ;  and  when,  after  a  few  words  of  introduction, 
Mrs.  Mowbray  approached  and  offered  her  hand  to  lead 
her  to  the  desk  behind  which  the  speaker  was  expected 
to  stand,  and  Theodora  rose  to  her  feet,  a  murmur  of 
admiration,  and  then  a  tremendous  round  of  applause,  in 
which  Burton  was  seen  as  a  leader,  burst  forth  from  the 
large  assemblage. 

Theodora  had  removed  her  cloak  and  gloves,  but  she 
wore  her  bonnet.  Her  gown  was  of  dark  blue  velvet, 


A   BEGINNING   AND    AN   END. 

one  that  had  been  sent  over  by  Worth  only  a  few  days 
before,  and  which  she  was  now  wearing  for  the  first 
time.  At  her  corsage  was  a  bouquet  of  her  favorite 
Jacqueminot  roses  that  her  husband  had  gathered  for  her. 
For  a  single  instant  she  stood  facing  the  crowd.  Then 
ghe  turned  and  bowed  to  the  president,  then  to  the  audi- 
ence, and  then,  while  every  one  wondered  what  she  was 
about  to  do,  she  walked  across  the  platform  to  where 
her  husband  was  sitting.  He  rose  from  his  chair  and 
advanced  toward  her,  thinking  that  something  had  hap- 
pened ;  but  she  stopped  when  about  five  feet  from  him, 
and  made  him  a  graceful  obeisance.  In  an  instant  a, 
deafening  shout  arose  from  the  crowd,  always  in  New 
York  prompt  to  understand.  It  was  the  touch  of  nature 
that  made  them  all  akin.  It  was  the  acknowledgment  of 
his  headship — of  her  vassalage.  At  once  all  perceived 
that  she  gave  up  nothing  of  the  woman,  nothing  of  the 
wife,  in  her  assumption  of  the  office  of  teacher.  On  the 
contrary,  there  was  not  one  of  all  those  assembled  there 
that  did  not  know  that  she  looked  to  her  husband  as  her 
helper,  her  supporter,  her  friend,  and  that  she  did  not 
look  in  vain. 

Moultrie  was  surprised.  It  was  not  in  human  nature 
for  him  not  to  be  pleased.  He  felt  that  she  had  won  in 
the  friendly  contest  that  had  been  begun  when  the  idea 
of  the  professorship  was  first  suggested,  and  she  had  won 
in  a  way  that  had  caused  his  heart  to  bound  with  love 
and  admiration  for  her.  But  this  was  not  the  place  for 
the  display  of  feeling.  He  held  out  his  hand  to  her,  and 
then  with  the  utmost  composure  led  her  back  to  the 
desk.  A  renewed  burst  of  applause  followed,  and  then 
every  sound  was  hushed  in  anxious  expectation  of  the 
words  that  were  to  come  from  the  fair  woman's  lips. 


222  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"It  is  not  usual,"  she  said,  in  her  clear,  sweet  voice, 
which,  without  being  raised  to  an  unpleasant  pitch,  pen- 
etrated to  every  part  of  the  large  room,  "  for  a  medical 
lecture  to  begin  with  a  text  from  scripture,  and  jet  there 
is  one  so  apposite  to  the  remarks  I  am  about  to  make, 
that  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  it,  even  if  I  am  obliged, 
in  so  doing,  to  give  it  an  application  not  intended  by 
the  sacred  writer — '  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death. ' 
The  thoughts  which,  in  their  ordinary  acceptation,  these 
few  words  evoke  in  our  minds  are  among  the  most 
solemn  that  can  occur  to  mankind,  and  there  is  not  a  day 
or  an  hour  that  their  truth  is  not  brought  home  to  some 
of  us  with  all  the  painful  force  which  nothing  so  strongly 
as  death  can  exert  upon  our  hearts.  Far  be  it  from  me 
to  attempt  to  lessen  their  influence. 

"  But,  after  all,  they  are  merely  a  terse  statement  of  a 
fact  which  every  one  knows.  The  researches  of  science, 
however,  enable  us  to  give  them  another  and  perhaps  a 
nobler  interpretation,  for  they  teach  us  that  while  we  are 
really  in  the  midst  of  death  it  is  to  that  death  that  we 
owe  our  life." 

For  nearly  an  hour,  amid  the  most  profound  attention, 
she  went  on,  adducing  fact  after  fact  and  illustration  after 
illustration  in  the  elucidation  of  the  doctrine  that  life 
results  from  death.  She  began  with  the  elementary  cell 
which  is  the  origin  of  every  tissue  of  the  body,  and  from 
that  advanced  to  the  several  organs  which  subserve  the 
purposes  of  the  living  being  in  the  performance  of  the 
functions  which  are  necessary  to  its  existence  or  health, 
and  she  showed  that  no  sensation,  no  action  of  any  kind, 
can  be  initiated  or  continued  without  the  death  of  some 
portion  of  the  body. 

She  was  never  at  a  loss  for  a  word,  and  each  well- 


A   BEGINNING   AND   AN   END.  223 

rounded  phrase  that  fell  from  her  lips  was  exactly  the 
one  that  best  expressed  the  thought  she  endeavored  to 
convey.  There  was  no  attempt  at  oratory,  no  gesticula- 
tion, no  impassioned  utterances,  but  not  a  single  sentence 
failed  of  its  due  effect,  and  there  were  just  those  proper 
inflections  and  pauses  that  served  best  to  give  emphasis 
to  her  ideas,  and  to  relieve  her  remarks  from  the  least 
suspicion  of  monotony. 

Each  division  of  her  discourse  occupied  its  logical  posi- 
tion, and  helped  to  make  a  symmetrical  entirety,  which 
could  not  fail  to  please  every  reflecting  mind.  But  there 
were  no  forced  constructions,  no  straining  after  effect,  no 
appeals  to  the  sympathies  or  prejudices  of  her  auditors — 
nothing  but  scientific  truths,  expressed  in  simple  English 
speech,  which  every  one  could  understand,  and  from 
which  deductions  were  drawn  that  no  one  could  deny. 
And  then  she  came  to  the  end. 

"  Thus,"  she  said,  •"  I  have  endeavored  to  show  that 
the  law  which  declares  that  there  can  be  no  force  with- 
out a  change  in  the  constitution  of  matter  is  in  as  full 
effect  throughout  the  domain  of  organic  as  of  inorganic 
nature.  We  get  the  electricity  that  sends  our  messages 
over  thousands  of  miles  of  wire  by  changes  that  are  in- 
duced in  a  few  pieces  of  zinc  and  a  little  sulphuric  acid  ; 
we  get  the  thoughts  that  enable  us  to  invent  the  ma- 
chines we  use  for  this  purpose,  and  by  which  the  world 
is  made  subject  to  our  wills,  by  the  destruction  of  a  few 
grains  of  the  substance  of  our  brains.  The  animal  body 
is,  therefore,  an  intricate  piece  of  apparatus,  which,  in 
order  that  it  may  do  its  different  kinds  of  work,  consumes 
its  own  substance  for  the  production  of  the  requisite 
force.  With  every  perception,  therefore,  that  reaches  the 
brain  from  without,  with  every  thought  that  it  con- 


224  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

ceives,  with  every  emotion  that  is  felt,  with  every  act  of 
the  will,  a  certain  portion  of  its  substance  dies,  and  new 
brain  take  its  splace.  Every  contraction  of  a  muscle  by 
which  the  slightest  motion  is  produced  results  directly 
from  the  death  of  a  part  of  that  muscle  ;  and  with  each 
pulsation  of  the  heart  a  portion  of  the  cardiac  tissue  is 
decomposed,  and  at  the  very  instant  its  place  is  filled  by 
new  substance,  ready  for  the  work  before  it.  The  death 
of  the  old,  the  birth  of  the  new,  are  going  forward  in 
our  bodies  with  every  instant  that  we  exist,  and  this 
ceaseless  course  is  that  which  we  call  life.  At  last,  how- 
ever, the  struggle  for  the  mastery  is  decided  once  and 
for  all,  so  far  as  the  earth  is  concerned.  The  processes  of 
decay  gain  the  ascendancy  ;  weakness  and  disease  result, 
and  eventually  the  triumph  of  death  is  complete.  Here 
science  pauses  ;  it  can  go  no  further  ;  but  here  faith  comes 
in  and  bids  us  hope  that  with  the  last  breath,  the  last 
throb  of  the  heart,  the  last  thought  that  flashes  through 
the  brain,  a  new  existence  is  entered  upon  in  another 
world  where  death  is  unknown." 

For  a  moment  the  vast  audience  was  as  silent  as  the 
grave,  apparently  spellbound  by  the  solemn  words, 
spoken,  with  ineffable  grace  and  dignity  and  feeling,  that 
constituted  the  end  of  the  lecture.  Then  round  after 
round  of  applause  swept  through  the  hall ;  men  waved 
their  hats,  women  their  handkerchiefs,  and  some,  over- 
come by  the  thoughts  that  the  discourse  excited,  could 
only  cover  their  faces  with  their  hands  and  sob  with  the 
.  excess  of  their  emotion.  Old  Bishop  Crocker  turned  to 
his  friend  Mr.  Constant,  the  eminent  lawyer,  diplomatist, 
and  statesman,  and  declared,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that 
he  had  never  heard  a  sermon  from  the  pulpit  that  could 
compare  with  it  for  its  teachings  of  natural  religion. 


A   BEGINNING   AND   AN   END.  225 

On  the  platform  every  one  hurried  to  congratulate 
Theodora  on  the  marked  ability  she  had  displayed,  her 
husband  being  the  first  to  take  her  by  the  hand  and  to 
whisper  his  words  of  loving  praise  into  her  ear.  "  What 
you  say  to  me,"  she  answered,  while  her  cheeks  flushed 
with  pleasure,  "  is  worth  all  that  the  whole  world  could 
say."  Then  Mrs.  Mowbray,  Rachel  Meadows,  Miss 
Richardson,  and  the  faculty  and  trustees  expressed  their 
*  thanks  and  commendations,  and  finally  the  Hon.  Tom 
Burton  was  seen  climbing  up  the  platform  and  coming 
forward,  with  his  intelligent  face  beaming  with  smiles. 

"I'd  climb  Pike's  Peak,  Mrs.  Mouitrie,"  he  said, 
holding  out  both  hands  in  his  effusiveness,  "  to  express 
my  thanks  and  my  delight,  if  you  were  standing  on  its 
very  apex.  No  man  that  ever  I  heard  could  talk  like 
that.  I  wish  you'd  let  me  attend  the  whole  course.  I'll 
wear  petticoats  if  it's  necessary." 

"  No,"  answered  Theodora,  smiling ;  "  this  is  the 
only  time  that  the  profane  foot  of  man  will  be  allowed  to 
cross  the  threshold.  To-morrow  our  work  begins." 

"  Well,  I'm  very  sorry,  and  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life  1  wish  1  were  a  woman.  But  you  can  do  me  one 
favor.  Introduce  me  to  Miss  Rachel  Meadows. ' ' 

"  Not  here,"  she  said,  kindly  ;  "  but  if  you  will  dine 
with  us  this  evening  I'll  ask  her  also,  and  then  you  will 
have  an  opportunity  of  making  her  acquaintance." 

He  bowed  his  thanks  and  his  acceptance,  and  was  then 
crowded  out  of  the  way  by  Mrs.  Pollux,  in  whose  wake 
was  Mrs.  Castor,  neither  of  whom  had  yet  had  a  chance 
to  unburden  their  minds. 

"  Such  a  success  was  never  before  seen  in  New  York  !" 
exclaimed  the  elder  lady.  "  You  will  have  to  possess  a 
better  brain  than  most  people,  my  dear,  to  prevent  being 


226  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

spoiled  with  the  fine  speeches  and  the  flattering  criti- 
cisms you  will  be  sure  to  receive." 

"  Yes,"  joined  in  Mrs.  Castor  ;  "  1  think  that  not  even 
Miss  Gildersleeve  can  find  fault  with  either  your  matter 
or  your  manner." 

"  She  will,  though,  and  with  both,"  said  Mrs.  Pollux  ; 
"  why,  only  last  week  the  Tattler  contained  an  insolent 
attack  on  a  lady  who  had  written  a  book,  and  not  only 
that,  but  on  the  lady's  father,  and  all  because  some  friend 
of  the  editor  did  not  like  the  gentleman." 

"I  am  not  acquainted  with  Miss  Gildersleeve,"  said 
Theodora  ;  ' l  consequently,  while  she  may  abuse  my  lect- 
ure, she  will  scarcely  venture  to  speak  ill  of  me." 

"  Well,  of  course  it's  of  no  consequence  what  she  says  ; 
but  you  wait  till  you  see  to-morrow's  Tattler.  If  you 
don't  find  yourself  and  your  husband  and  your  father 
handled  without  gloves  —  yes,  literally  without  gloves, 
for  she  never  wears  them  —  you  may  call  me  a  false 
prophet." 

Everybody  was  going  away  now  ;  Mrs.  Castor  and 
Mrs.  Pollux  entered  their  own  carriages,  which  had  been 
ordered  to  come  to  the  college,  and  Moultrie  and  Theo- 
dora drove  home  alone.  It  was  beginning  to  drizzle  a 
little,  and  the  footman  raised  the  top,  thus  converting 
the  landau  into  a  close  carriage. 

"  Oh,  Geoffrey  !"  exclaimed  Theodora,  as  soon  as  she 
was  shut  off  from  the  looks  of  vulgar  eyes,  and  throwing 
herself  into  his  arms  as  she  spoke — "  oh,  Geoffrey,  I  am 
so  happy  !" 

"  Yes,  dear,"  he  said,  caressing  her,  "  and  so  am  I. 
We  have  both  that  right,  I  think,  after  what  you've  done 
to-day." 

"  But  it  is  not  on  account  of  the  lecture,"  she  contin- 


A   BEGINNING   AND   AN   END.  227 

ued,  hiding  her  face  in  his  breast.  "  I — I — did  not  know 
till  a  few  minutes  ago.  But  this  is  my  first  and  last  lect- 
ure. God  has  spoken  !  For  oh,  my  husband,  I  am 
going  to  be  a  mother  !" 

He  folded  her  to  his  heart  and  kissed  her  lips,  and  then 
her  eyes,  suffused  as  they  were  with  tears  of  joy.  The 
instinct  of  maternity  was  already  making  itself  felt 
within  her.  A  power  stronger  than  that  of  either  of 
them  had  interposed.  What  were  lectures  and  medical 
schools  to  her  now  !  How  insignificant  they  all  seemed 
to  her,  compared  with  the  great  treasure  she  bore  in  her 
bosom,  and  which  henceforth,  for  many  months  to  come, 
was  to  hold  her  in  happy  bondage  ! 


CHAPTER  XII. 

INFATUATION. 

J 

NEITHER  the  dowager  Mrs.  Moultrie  nor  Mrs.  Sin- 
cote  was  at  Theodora's  lecture.  The  former  disap- 
proved of  the  whole  affair,  thought  that  Moultrie  ought 
to  have  interfered  to  prevent  his  wife  disgracing  the 
family  by  appearing  in  public  on  the  rostrum,  and,  worst 
of  all,  as  a  lecturer  in  a  medical  college.  She  had  pre- 
dicted a  signal  failure,  both  as  regarded  the  discourse 
and  the  character  of  the  audience  that  might  assemble 
to  hear  it. 

Mrs.  Sincote  had  been  confined  to  her  bed  ever  since 
the  morning  she  had  fainted,  while  Lai  was  telling  the 
story  of  the  deception  which,  by  means  of  a  false  letter, 
had  been  practised  upon  an  ancestor  of  the  present 
John  Tyscovus,  and  of  the  horrible  fate  that  had  over- 
taken the  perpetrator.  She  had  not  been  very  ill,  hut 
the  fainting  attack  had  been  followed  by  several  hysteri- 
cal paroxysms  of  grief,  alternating  with  joy,  during  which 
she  had  shed  tears  and  laughed  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
induce  considerable  bodily  fatigue,  and  to  make  it  neces- 
sary, Dr.  Cady  said,  that  she  should  not  be  subjected  to 
any  influence  likely  to  cause  the  slightest  mental  excite- 
ment 

She  had  found  it  difficult  to  account  for  the  fact  that 
twice  that  morning  she  had  been  overcome,  once  almost 
fainting,  and  again  completely  losing  consciousness.  She 


INFATUATION.  229 

had  insisted  that  the  history  Lai  had  quoted  from  the  lit- 
tle vellum-bound  book  had  had  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  the  latter  occurrence,  and  that  the  former  was  due 
to  the  circumstance  that  she  had  omitted  taking  her  usual 
cup  of  coffee  at  breakfast.  But  when  Moultrie  came  home, 
and  Lai  related  both  occurrences  to  him,  he  made  very 
little  comment,  although  it  was  evident  to  her  that  they 
had  produced  no  light  impression  on  his  mind.  Then 
when  she  told  him  of  the  loss  of  the  copy  of  the  letter 
she  had  made  from  the  book,  he  became  still  more  grave 
and  thoughtful.  So  much  for  Mrs.  Sincote. 

Miss  Billy  Bremen,  after  her  failure  to  interest  the 
press  in  her  account  of  the  action  of  the  vigilance  com- 
mittee against  Messrs.  Bosler  and  Kittle,  and  under  the 
influence  of  the  disappointment  she  had  experienced 
consequent  upon  the  election  of  Moultrie  to  Congress, 
had  subsided  into  a  condition  of  comparative  obscurity. 
She  had  even  abstained  from  attendance  at  the  regular 
afternoon  meetings  of  the  executive  committee  of  "  The 
United  "Women  of  America  ;"  for  she  knew  that  she 
had  at  least  two  enemies  in  that  body — Miss  Richardson 
and  Miss  Meadows — and  they,  probably,  the  most  influ- 
ential of  all  the  members.  She  had,  however,  been  un- 
able to  refrain  from  going  to  Theodora's  lecture,  actu- 
ated as  she  was,  not  by  a  desire  to  learn  anything,  but 
by  an  insatiable  spirit  of  curiosity,  that  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  traits  of  her  character.  Accordingly, 
accompanied  by  one  whom  she  knew  to  be  her  friend- 
Mrs.  Cross,  the  lady  with  three  husbands  -all  alive — she 
had  gone  to  the  college,  and  had  had  her  little  soul 
fllled  with  gall  and  wormwood  on  perceiving  the  magnifi- 
cent success  that  had  attended  Mrs.  Moultrie's  effort. 
On  the  lecturer's  appearance  both  she  and  her  friend 


230  A   STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

were  forced  to  admit  to  themselves  that  she  was  a  very 
beautiful  and  distinguished-looking  woman,  dressed  with 
consummate  taste,  and  holding  herself  with  an  ease  and 
dignity  which  both  of  them  knew  was  as  far  from  their 
attainment  as  is  the  moon  from  the  stretched-out  hand 
of  an  avaricious  baby.  Women  in  a  large  city  like  New 
York,  vulgar  though  they  may  be,  have  so  many  oppor- 
tunities for  educating  the  eye,  that  they  acquire  the 
faculty  of  discriminating  between  the  true  and  the  false 
in  all  matters  of  aesthetics  to  a  much  greater  extent  than 
is  generally  supposed.  At  the  same  time,  while  possess- 
ing this  power,  they  never,  unless  they  really  become 
refined,  appear  to  have  the  ability  to  exercise  good  taste 
in  the  matters  of  their  own  dress  and  surroundings. 
They  can  recognize  in  others  the  fact  that  simplicity  is 
not  incompatible  with  elegance,  but  seem  to  be  utterly  in- 
capable of  applying  the  knowledge  to  themselves.  Thus, 
if  Theodora  had  appeared  on  the  platform  clothed,  as  was 
Miss  Billy,  in  a  sky-blue  velvet  hat  with  purple  feathers, 
and  a  green  silk  frock  slashed  with  yellow  plush,  no  one 
in  the  room  would  have  noticed  the  incongruity  more  than 
she.  She  would  have  complacently  felt  that  what  she 
could  wear  with  advantage  to  her  good  looks,  a  woman 
like  Theodora  could  not  venture  upon  with  impunity. 

"  I  suppose  her  husband  is  too  mean  to  give  her  dia- 
monds, ' '  was  the  only  remark  she  made,  until  Theodora, 
moved  by  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  had  bowed  to 
Moultrie.  Then  her  pent-up  feelings  could  be  restrained 
no  longer,  and  she  burst  out  into  a  perfect  tirade  of  in- 
vectives, conveyed  in  loud  whispers  to  the  ear  of  her 
companion. 

"  Such  acting  !' '  she  exclaimed  ;  "  did  you  ever  see  the 
like  of  it  ?  Of  course  it's  a  put-up  job.  When  they're 


INFATUATION.  231 

at  home  I  guess  they  fight  like  cat  and  dog.  All  these 
people  do  who  are  so  sweet  on  one  another  in  public.  I 
guess  he  gave  his  consent  on  condition  that  she'd  go 
down  on  her  knees  before  the  whole  audience." 

"  Before  I'd  do  that  to  the  best  man  that  God  ever 
made  I'd  cut  my  throat,"  said  Mrs.  Cross,  with  an  ac- 
cent that  was  full  of  sanguinary  emphasis.  "  But,  of 
course,  Miss  Bremen,  it's  all  a  sham." 

"  "What  an  awkward  man  he  is,"  resumed  Miss  Billy. 
"  Why  didn't  he  give  her  his  arm  like  a  gentleman, 
instead  of  taking  her  by  the  hand,  and  holding  it  out  as 
if  he  was  a  king,  and  she  a  queen.  Perhaps  that's  the 
latest  style  from  Colorado."  And  so  she  went  on  with 
her  comments  during  the  whole  lecture,  asserting  at  the 
end  that  it  was  full  of  infidel  sentiments,  and  that  she 
wondered  how  Christian  people — clergymen,  too — could 
listen  to  such  horrible  doctrines,  and  even  applaud  them. 

Now,  when  Miss  Richardson  had  announced  so  posi- 
tively her  conviction  that  Miss  Billy  was  in  love  with 
Mr.  Moultrie,  she  had,  as  is  very  often  the  case  with 
people  who  make  positive  assertions  on  slight  evidence, 
made  a  great  mistake.  So  far  from  entertaining  the 
slightest  feelings  of  regard  for  this  gentleman,  she  hated 
him  with  a  degree  of  intensity  which  had,  as  we  have 
seen,  not  stopped  with  him,  but  had  extended  to  other 
members  of  his  family.  And  she  would  very  willingly 
have  slaughtered  each  and  every  one  of  them  in  as  cold 
blood  as  was  felt  by  the  butchers  in  her  own  abattoir 
toward  the  animals  whose  existences  were  there  termi- 
nated, could  she  have  had  them  in  her  power.  The  reason 
for  this  was  by  no  means  logical,  but  it  was  sufficient 
for  a  narrow-minded,  ignorant,  and  malignant  little  ani- 
mal like  Miss  Billy,  and  it  consisted  in  the  fact  that  Mr. 


232  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Luke  Kittle's  mother  and  her  mother  were  first  cousins. 
Now,  as  Mr.  Moultrie  had  been  instrumental  in  aiding 
Mr.  Jim  Bosler  to  shuffle  off  this  mortal  coil  with  ease  to 
himself  and  advantage  to  the  community,  and  had  en- 
couraged the  Vigilance  Committee  in  perform  ing  the  like 
kindly  offices  for  her  cousin,  the  facts  were  deemed  by 
the  lady  sufficient  cause  for  hating  his  whole  family. 

But  while  Miss  Billy  was  very  far  from  being  in  love 
with  Moultrie,  the  tender  passion  had  touched  her  from 
another  quarter.  Miss  Richardson  had  mistaken  the 
direction  of  the  lady's  glances,  for  they  were  not  directed 
toward  the  candidate,  but  at  the  gentleman  who  was  ad- 
vocating his  claims,  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton.  It  was  not 
the  first  time  she  had  seen  him.  In  fact,  she  had  a 
slight — very  slight  acquaintance  with  him,  his  law  firm 
in  Lutetia  being  her  legal  advisers  in  a  suit  for  damages 
that  she  had  instituted  against  some  Texan  cattle-dealers 
for  a  failure  to  deliver  a  lot  of  beeves  to  her  in  New 
York,  according  to  contract.  He  had,  representing  the 
firm,  met  her  two  or  three  times  in  a  business  capacity, 
and  Miss  Billy  had  lost  her  heart.  Thus  far  she  had 
made  no  progress  in  gaining  his  affection,  the  truth  being 
that  she  had  never  once  occurred  to  his  mind  outside  of 
his  business  relations  with  her.  He  did  not  even  know 
that  she  had  attended  the  meeting  at  which  her  anger 
had  been  so  greatly  roused  against  Moultrie  and  Rachel 
Meadows. 

Now,  Miss  Billy  had  a  sharp  pair  of  eyes,  and  her  mind 
was  as  shrewd  in  a  small  way  as  that  of  any  woman,  or 
man  either,  for  that  matter,  that  ever  lived.  She  had 
kept  her  little  dull  orbs  fixed  on  Burton  while  Eachel 
was  speaking,  and  she  had  observed  that  he  was  all  at- 
tention and  admiration.  There  was  no  mistaking  this 


INFATUATION.  233 

fact.  Then,  when  she  had  concluded,  she  noticed  that 
his  looks  followed  her  till  she  had  resumed  her  seat,  and 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  keep  his  gaze  away  from 
her,  try  as  he  might.  From  all  of  which  she  argued 
that  the  man  with  whom  she  was  in  love  had  bestowed 
his  affection  on  another  woman  ;  and  with  the  sort  of 
feminine  logic  which  women  like  Miss  Billy  exhibit,  she 
had  at  once  made  herself  an  enemy  of  that  woman. 
There  might  have  been  a  slight  modicum  of  reason 
in  the  matter  if  she  had  turned  her  hatred  on  Burton  ; 
but  that  she  should  vent  her  spite  on  Rachel  was  not  ex- 
plainable upon  any  other  hypothesis  than  that  she  her- 
self being  a  woman  was  possessed  of  some  of  the  char- 
acteristics peculiar  to  the  more  ignoble  specimens  of  the 
sex.  As  to  the  taunt  she  had  made  to  Rachel  of  being 
in  love  with  Moultrie,  Miss  Billy  was  well  aware  that  she 
had  uttered  a  lie,  pure  and  simple. 

The  Hon.  Tom  Burton,  late  Member  of  Congress 
from  the  State  of  Texas,  and  applicant  for  the  position 
of  consul  to  Barcelona,  had  dined  with  the  Moultries, 
and  had  had  the  pleasure  of  escorting  Mrs.  Moultrie  to 
dinner  and  of  sitting  next  to  Rachel  Meadows.  It  was 
a  very  enjoyable  dinner  to  him,  although  his  attentions 
and  his  affections,  it  must  be  said,  were  for  a  time  pretty 
equally  divided  between  Rachel  and  Lai  and  Theodora. 
He  reflected,  however,  that  he  had  no  possible  chance 
with  either  of  the  other  ladies,  and  later  in  the  evening 
restricted  his  conversation  almost  entirely  to  the  only 
one  upon  whom  he  could  hope  to  make  an  impression. 
For  versatility  in  knowledge  and  occupation  few  men 
were  the  equals  of  this  gentleman.  Educated  at  Har- 
vard, he  had,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  between  the 
States,  hurried  home  just  as  he  was  about  to  graduate, 


234  A  STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  had  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  State  of  Texas,  and 
afterward,  by  absorption,  in  that  of  the  Confederacy. 
His  promotion  had  been  rapid,  for  in  less  than  six  months 
he  had  risen  from  the  rank  of  private  to  that  of  brig- 
adier-general, obtaining  his  promotion  on  the  ground  of 
his  superior  education,  his  dash  and  bravery,  but  mainly 
on  account  of  a  couple  of  most  audacious  and  successful 
raids  which  he  had  made  into  the  State  of  Kansas,  with 
a  couple  of  squadrons  of  cavalry.  For  the  last  of  these, 
during  which  he  had  met  and  defeated  a  force  twice  as 

O 

numerous  as  his  own,  besides  bringing  back  with  him 
large  numbers  of  horses  and  cattle,  he  had  been  jumped 
at  one  step  from  the  grade  of  major  to  that  of  brigadier- 
general.  But  it  was  not  long  thereafter  that  he  encoun- 
tered the  fate  of  many  less  brave  and  daring  command- 
ers. He  had  a  little  too  much  contempt  for  his  adver- 
saries, and  one  day  he  was  raided  in  turn  by  a  Union 
brigadier,  with  two  regiments  of  infantry.  And  while 
General  Burton  and  his  men  were  bivouacking  and  enjoy- 
ing themselves  as  well  as  their  limited  facilities  for  ob- 
taining a  dip  into  the  "  flesh-pots  of  Egypt  "  permitted, 
and  while  their  horses  were  picketed  out  on  the  prairie, 
he  and  his  whole  command  were,  in  the  expressive  lan- 
guage of  the  day,  "gobbled  up"  and  marched  off  on 
foot  to  a  railroad  station,  whence  they  were  conveyed  to 
a  Northern  military  prison.  Here  General  Burton  passed 
the  few  months  remaining  till  the  close  of  the  war,  suf- 
fering the  most  poignant  anguish  over  the  wreck  of  his 
military  aspirations,  and  chagrin  at  the  method  of  his 
capture.  "  To  think,"  he  said,  "  that  two  regiments  of 
cavalry  should  have  been  captured  by  an  equal  force  of 
infantry.  The  finest  soldiers  in  the  Confederacy — fel- 
lows accustomed  to  ride  horseback  almost  from  the  day 


INFATUATION.  235 

they  were  born — to  be  wiped  out  in  this  way  by  a  lot  of 
Yankee  school-teachers,  clerks,  and  farm  hands  on  foot, 
is  hard.  Yes,  it's  damned  hard  !  I  don't  think  1  can 
ever  lift  up  my  head  again.  I  am  tired  of  the  war,  and 
if  any  man  dares  to  give  me  a  military  title  after  I  get 
out  of  this  hole  I'll  kill  him  as  sure  as  my  name's  Torn 
Burton. "  He  got  out  in  two  or  three  months,  but  no  one 
ever  ventured  to  call  him  "  general." 

Then  he  began  the  study  of  the  law,  and  soon  after 
admission  to  the  bar  became  the  leading  lawyer  in 
Lutetia,  the  town  in  which  he  resided.  Employed  in 
several  important  railway  cases,  he  had  received  large 
fees,  and  soon — for  nothing,  even  in  Texas,  succeeds 
like  success — his  practice  grew  to  such  large  proportions 
that  he  was  obliged  to  take  a  partner.  Then,  like  a  wise 
man,  he  turned  over  all  the  drudgery  to  the  junior,  and, 
unwisely  perhaps,  went  into  politics.  He  could  have 
had  almost  any  State  office  —and  he  did  take  two  or  three 
— but  he  pined  for  national  distinction.  No  rebel  was  ever 
more  thoroughly  reconstructed  than  was  he  ;  but  he  was 
on  the  wrong  side  to  get  anything  from  the  party  then 
in  power.  District  attorneyships,  judgeships,  collector- 
ships,  consulships,  etc.,  etc.,  were  not  for  men  of  his 
way  of  thinking.  But  he  could  go  to  Congress.  So  he 
went,  and  without  any  opposition  worthy  of  the  name. 

He  had  served  one  term,  and  then  he  desired  a  renom- 
ination.  But  his  course  had  been  too  independent  to 
suit  the  party  managers.  So  a  more  subservient  individ- 
ual, a  German-Israelite,  a  good  enough  man  in  his  way 
perhaps,  was  substituted  in  his  place. 

Burton  had  always  been  noted  for  a  certain  kind  of 
dashing  oratory,  which  took  universally  with  the  people. 

If  he  had  chosen  to  offer  himself  as  an  independent 


236  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

candidate,  lie  would  easily  have  swept  everything  before 
him  ;  but  he  was  a  strict  party  man  in  his  own  State, 
and  nothing  would  have  induced  him  to  set  himself  up 
against  the  managers  or  "  bosses"  that  looked  after  the 
politics  of  his  side.  But  he  had  while  in  Congress  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  an  advocate  of  free -trade,  and  had 
made  a  speech  on  the  subject  that  had  at  once  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  Free-Trade  League.  This  organiza- 
tion, on  the  lookout  for  able  speakers  to  expound  their 
principles  to  the  people,  especially  the  artisans  of  the 
country,  had  opened  negotiations  with  him.  And  so,  as 
his  term  in  Congress  had  expired,  he  was  engaged  to 
enter  upon  the  crusade  against  protection  that  had  been 
instituted.  He  was  to  speak  at  least  once  a  week  for 
one  year,  and  was  to  receive  one  hundred  dollars  for  each 
address.  This  suited  him  exactly,  for  he  had  about  ten 
thousand  dollars^/1  annum  from  his  practice  and  invest- 
ments he  had  made,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  travel  ex- 
tensively, to  live  "  like  a  gentleman"  in  New  York,  and 
to  take  occasional  risks  on  horse  races — this  latter  being 
the  only  form  of  gambling — if  it  can  be  called  such — in 
which  he  indulged. 

His  success  at  the  North  as  a  speaker  had  been  very 
great,  and  the  mere  announcement  of  his  name  was 
sufficient  to  draw  a  large  audience  to  hear  him.  He  had 
done  effective  work  for  Moultrie. 

But  his  engagement  with  the  free-traders  was  nearly 
at  an  end,  and  the  Hon.  Tom  began  to  sigh  for  the 
cares  and  the  honors  of  a  public  office.  He  had  made 
up  his  mind  never  again  to  live  in  Texas.  He  had 
tasted  the  delights  of  a  life,  with  its  freedom  and  its 
luxuries,  in  the  metropolis,  and  he  had  in  consequence 
become  unfit  for  a  rural  existence.  "  New  York,"  he 


INFATUATION.  237 

declared  nearly  every  day  of  his  life,  "  was  the  only 
place  in  the  whole  country  fit  to  live  in."  Here  he  had 
his  clubs,  his  good  dinners,  his  theatres,  operas,  and, 
above  all,  his  horses.  Life  in  Texas  would  have  been 
insupportable  to  him. 

The  getting  of  an  office  was,  however,  a  matter  of 
difficulty,  his  political  principles  being  such  as  not  to 
commend  him  to  the  party  in  power,  unless  some  way 
could  be  devised  for  making  use  of  him.  Up  to  the 
present  time  no  way  had  been  discovered  for  bringing 
his  abilities  into  the  service  of  his  country ;  but  Moul- 
trie's  election,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  he 
would  possess  considerable  influence  as  an  independent 
member,  had  given  him  fresh  hope.  In  the  mean  time 
he  had  busied  himself  in  looking  into  certain  schemes 
that  had  been  started  for  making  money,  or,  perhaps, 
for  getting  hold  of  other  people's  money,  his  own  among 
the  rest,  and  some  of  them  had  seriously  commended 
themselves  to  his  attention.  Among  those  were  the 
"  New  York  Automatic  Ventilating  and  Heat  Regulat- 
ing Company,"  an  organization  that  proposed  to  carry 
out  the  objects  mentioned  in  its  name  by  first  getting 
contracts  for  putting  their  apparatus  into  all  the  public 
buildings  and  schoolhouses  of  the  city,  at  an  expense  to 
the  taxpayers  of  over  a  million  of  dollars,  but  to  them- 
selves of  less  than  a  hundred  thousand.  The  system, 
however,  was  good,  entirely  scientific,  and  practicable. 
As  yet,  however,  no  contracts  had  been  obtained  ;  and  as 
the  company  had  neither  the  money  nor  the  dishonesty 
to  excite  them  to  the  purchase  of  the  proper  officials,  it 
was  not  likely  that  the  very  beautiful  arrangements  de- 
vised would  ever  reach  a  higher  stage  than  that  of  the 
scientific  toy.  Burton  had  invested  three  thousand  dol- 


238  A  STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

lars  in  this  enterprise,  with  the  probability  that  he  would 
never  see  the  money  again. 

Then  he  had  "  gone  into"  mines,  and  had  become  in- 
terested in  patents  of  various  kinds,  and  had  bought  up 
waste  lands  in  New  Jersey,  with  the  intention  of  convert- 
ing them  into  cranberry-farms,  and  many  other  things, 
good,  bad,  and  indifferent.  To  be  sure,  he  had  always 
been  regardful  of  the  truth  of  the  statement  that — 

.       "  Little  ships  keep  close  to  shore, 

While  larger  vessels  venture  more." 

He  had  always  recognized  the  fact  that  he  was  finan- 
cially a  "  little  ship,"  and  that  it  was  necessary  for  him 
to  "  keep  close  to  shore  ;"  so  that  while  his  gains  from 
his  investments  had  not  been  great,  his  losses  had  been 
small ;  and,  on  the  whole,  he  was  a  little  ahead. 

The  conversation  at  the  dinner-table  had,  of  course,  as 
it  was  the  principal  event  of  the  day,  SD  far  as  the  party 
was  concerned,  turned  on  the  lecture.  The  knowledge 
that  had  come  to  Theodora,  and  that  she  had  communi- 
cated to  her  husband,  had  put  them  both  into  more  than 
usual  good-humor,  for  they  had  begun  to  have  fears  that 
their  union  might  not  be  blessed  with  offspring. 

Now,  however,  all  apprehensions  were  removed,  and 
the  fact  caused  them  more  real  joy  than  they  had  experi- 
enced at  any  time  since  their  marriage. 

Of  course  Mr.  Burton  was  enthusiastic  in  his  praise 
of  Theodora's  style  of  oratory,  but  he  was  careful  to  put 
in  a  saving  clause  relative  to  Rachel  Meadows,  whom  he 
had  heard  speak  so  well  at  the  meeting  of  Moultrie's 
supporters,  held  just  before  the  election.  Both  ad- 
dresses were,  however,  he  declared,  astonishing  instances 
of  what  woman  could  do  in  the  way  of  oratory.  For 


INFATUATION.  239 

clear  statement  of  fact  he  had  never  known  either  to  be 
equalled. 

Then  he  branched  off  into  politics,  and  spoke  of  the 
effort  that  would  be  made  at  the  ensuing  session  of  Con- 
gress to  obtain  some  modification  of  the  existing  tariff. 
The  South,  he  said,  was  always  ready  for  free-trade, 
and  the  West  was  getting  ready  to  wheel  into  line.  Even 
the  East  was  beginning  to  show  signs  of  desiring  a 
change.  The  cotton  manufacturers  of  New  England 
were  already  ripe  for  it.  They  had  now  no  foreign 
market,  and  as  to  those  of  wool,  how  could  they  compete 
with  outsiders,  when  they  were  taxed  so  heavily  by  the 
duty  on  the  raw  material  they  employed  ?  Of  all  the 
ways  of  protecting  American  manufactures,  that  of  put- 
ting almost  prohibitory  duties  on  the  materials  they  used 
was  the  most  idiotic.  Then  turning  to  Rachel,  who  had 
listened  very  attentively  to  all  his  remarks,  and  was 
pleased  with  his  versatility,  he  said  : 

"  All  women  are  natural-born  free-traders,  Miss 
Meadows,  and  the  enemies  of  custom-houses.  They  are 
all  in  favor  of  buying  in  the  cheapest  market  and  selling 
in  the  dearest,  and  they  will  all  smuggle  when  they  can. " 

"How  can  you  expect  us,"  answered  Rachel,  smil- 
ing, "  to  take  an  interest  in  the  enforcement  of  laws 
which  you  give  us  no  share  in  making  ?  You  govern  us 
by  brute  force,  and  then  expect  us  to  be  loyal  to  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  country  !  If  we  were  strong  enough 
we  would  rebel." 

"  Were  you  ever  a  rebel,  Miss  Meadows  ?"  said  Bur- 
ton, with  a  laugh.  "  No,  I  am  sure  you  have  not  been. 
Now,  I  was  once  one  of  the  most  venomous  rebels  you 
ever  saw.  You  wouldn't  think  it  to  look  at  me,  for  now 
I'm  as  gentle  as  a  sucking  pig.  Rebellion  doesn't  pay. 


240  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Four  months  in  a  Northern  prison  and  the  cessation  of 
war  knocked  all  rebellious  tendencies  out  of  me.  My 
powers  of  resistance  are  gone.  If  a  man  were  to  open 
that  door,  and  say,  '  Burton,  give  me  a  thousand  dollars, 
or  I'll  sue  you  for  it,'  I  would  take  out  my  check-book 
and  write  him  a  check  for  the  sum,  and  I'd  save  money 
by  the  operation,  too.  There's  another  moral  to  that, 
*  Never  go  to  law  !' ' 

"  And  yet  you  are  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Burton,"  said  Theo- 
dora. "  If  everybody  took  your  ad  vice,  your  occupation 
would  be  gone." 

"  Yes,  but  I  trust  an  honest  one.  However,  advice 
of  that  sort,  like  every  other  kind,  is  never  heeded  by 
those  whom  it  would  most  benefit.  But  I  have  decided 
to  abandon  the  law  ;  1  have  found  another  occupation 
that  will  suit  me  better,  and  that  will  prove  far  more 
profitable." 

"  What  have  you  got  hold  of  now,  Burton  ?"  asked 
Moultrie,  laughing.  "  The  affair  you  had  taken  up  when 
1  last  heard  anything  on  the  subject  of  your  numerous 
short  and  easy  methods  to  wealth  was  a  machine  for 
making  surgical  bandages. ' ' 

"  Yes,  that  was  the  last  ;  but  after  due  inquiry  I  gave 
that  up.  You  see,  there  are  about  sixty  thousand  physi- 
cians in  the  United  States  ;  and  admitting  that  each  one 
would  use  ten  bandages  a  year,  that  makes  six  hundred 
thousand  that  would  be  required.  Now,  allow  four  hun- 
dred thousand  more  for  the  hospitals,  and  we  have  a 
total  of  one  million.  The  machine  has  a  capacity  of  one 
million  a  week,  so  that,  you  see,  we  could  supply  the 
whole  United  States  with  bandages  for  a  year  by  work- 
ing one  week.  The  other  fifty-one  weeks  we  should  be 
doing  nothing.  Now,  as  probably  it  would  be  a  long 


INFATUATION.  241 

time  before  every  surgeon  and  hospital  in  the  country 
would  take  our  bandages — for  if  each  doctor  chose  to 
roll  his  own,  he  could  make  them  as  cheaply  as  we  could 
— I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  no  money  in 
it." 

"  A  very  sensible  conclusion,  I  think  !"  exclaimed 
Moultrie.  "  But  what  is  the  scheme  ?" 

"  I  am  going,"  said  Burton,  looking  around  the  table, 
and  engaging  each  one's  attention,  "  to  establish  a  man- 
ufactory of  gondolas." 

"A  what!" 

".A  manufactory  of  gondolas — those  black  boats  that 
they  use  in  Venice  for  going  about  the  streets  in." 

Every  one  laughed  but  Rachel.  She  looked  interested 
and  serious,  while  the  others  evidently  regarded  the  state- 
ment as  a  joke. 

u  Since  you  are  the  only  one  that  thinks  I  am  in 
earnest,  Miss  Meadows,"  said  Burton,  looking  as  serious 
as  he  could  under  the  circumstances,  "  I  will  address 
myself  to  you.  The  others  may  listen  if  they  care  to, 
but  I  wish  them  to  understand  that  my  remarks  are  for 
your  private  ear." 

"  Go  on,  Burton,"  laughed  Moultrie.  "  We  shall 
listen,  even  if,  like  other  listeners,  we  do  not  hear  any 
good  of  ourselves.  But  let  me  ask  you  how  many  cities 
there  are  in  this  country  that  use  gondolas  for  purposes 
of  locomotion  ?" 

"  Not  one,  '  most  potent,  grave,  and  reverend  seignior,' 
so  far  as  I  know.  But  what  has  that  to  do  with  it  ? 
However,  don't  interrupt  me  by  answering,  please.  1 
am  speaking  to  Miss  Meadows,  whose  intelligent  mind  is 
the  only  one  here  that  appreciates  me.  Isn't  that  so,  Miss 

Meadows  ?" 
11 


242  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  Rachel,  with  a  blush  ; 
"  I'm  sure  I  think  you  are  very  enterprising." 

11  Thanks  !  Now,  give  me  your  attention,  please, 
and  1  will  convince  you  that  your  good  opinion  is  not 
misplaced. 

"  I  have  ascertained,"  he  continued,  after  taking  a  sip 
of  Musigny,  which  was  being  served  with  the  canvas- 
backs,  "  from  the  Italian  consul,  who  is  a  Venetian 
and  a  friend  of  mine,  that  over  a  thousand  new  gondolas 
are  required  in  Venice  every  year.  A  good  gondola 
costs  there  over  twelve  hundred  dollars,  and  fine  ones  a 
great  deal  more  than  that.  The  one  used  by  the  Doge 
is  valued  at  more  than  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  there 
are  many  others  worth  almost  as  much.  However,  put- 
ting them  at  twelve  hundred  dollars  each,  and  we  have  a 
total  of  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  in- 
vested every  year  in  gondolas.  1  have  had  estimates 
made  here  by  some  of  our  best  boat-builders  and  uphol- 
sterers, and  I  find  that  they  can  be  made  and  delivered 
in  Venice,  ready  for  use,  for  about  two  hundred  dollars 
each — that  is,  the  whole  one  thousand  would  cost  but 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  being  a  yearly  profit  of  a 
million  for  the  manufacturer.  Now,  my  friend,"  ad- 
dressing Moultrie,  who,  with  the  others,  excepting  Rachel, 
was  laughing  heartily,  "  you  may  laugh  as  much  as  you 
please  ;  but  if  you  know  of  good  honest  work  that  is  as 
likely  to  prove  remunerative  to  the  capitalist  as  this,  I 
should  like  to  hear  of  it." 

"  I  am  sure  it  is  an  admirable  scheme,  Mr.  Burton," 
said  Rachel,  "  and  I  think  you  deserve  a  great  deal  of 
credit  for  thinking  it  out  so  thoroughly.  Mamma  and  I 
are  going  to  Venice  in  February,  and — " 

"  You  are  going  to  Venice  !"  interrupted  Burton,  his 


INFATUATION.  243 

face  beaming  with  pleasure.  "  That  is  delightful ;  I  was 
just  going  to  request  our  friend  here  to  permit  me  to 
change  my  application  for  the  Barcelona  consulship  to 
one  for  Venice.  Consuls  are  allowed  to  transact  private 
business,  so  that  1  could  easily  look  after  the  interests  of 
the  i  Venetian  Gondola  Manufacturing  Company,'  and 
at  the  same  time  attend  to  my  public  duties.  The  fact 
that  you  are  going  to  be  there,  Miss  Meadows,  is  the 
strongest  reason  I  could  have  for  wishing  to  be  there 
too." 

Moultrie  smiled,  Lai  looked  a  little  surprised,  while 
Theodora  was  embarrassed  at  this  open  love-making  of 
the  Hon.  Tom.  Certainly,  she  had  never  seen  so  much 
frankness  or  such  unstinted  compliments  in  all  her  life. 
At  first  she  was  in  doubt  whether  the  gentleman  was 
in  earnest,  or  whether  he  was  simply  dealing  out  un- 
mitigated flattery,  with  the  object  of  making  himself 
agreeable.  But  a  good  look  at  Burton  was  sufficient  to 
remove  all  incertitude  from  her  mind.  If  he  was  not  in 
earnest,  then  certainly  she  did  not  know  how  to  read 
language  or  facial  expression.  She  verily  believed  that 
but  for  the  presence  of  the  others  Burton  would  have 
thrown  his  arms  around  Rachel,  and  then  and  there  have 
asked  her  to  be  his  wife.  He  appeared  to  feel  himself 
making  a  charge  as  he  was  accustomed  to  do  on  his  raids 
during  the  war,  and  to  be  overcoming  all  obstacles  by 
pure  dash  and  momentum. 

As  to  Rachel,  she  received  his  speeches  and  his 
marked  attention  with  apparent  great  satisfaction  and 
complacency.  When  he  said  that  the  fact  of  her  going 
to  Venice  was  the  determining  factor  in  causing  him  to 
desire  that  city  for  a  residence,  she  blushed  a  little,  and 
a  quiet  smile,  or  rather  the  least  possible  expansion  of  her 


244  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

features,  appeared  on  her  countenance,  but  she  made  no 
reply.  Why  should  she  ?  Silence  was  more  expressive 
than  words. 

Evidently,  the  gallant  Texan  was  contented  with  him- 
self and  with  the  manner  that  Rachel  exhibited  toward 
him.  The  party  was  too  small  for  much  dual  conversa- 
tion, but  occasionally  there  had  been  an  opportunity  for 
him  to  put  in  a  word  or  two  in  a  low  tone,  expressing 
his  high  appreciation  of  her  independence  of  character, 
of  his  admiration  of  a  particular  flower  that  she  wore  in 
her  corsage  bouquet,  of  an  antique  ring  that  her  father, 
the  Commodore,  had  brought  from  Greece,  and  that  en- 
circled the  second  finger  on  the  hand  next  to  him,  and 
— he  had  heard  that  Rachel  was  an  astronomer — of  his 
great  interest  in  the  study  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  He 
was  thinking  all  the  time,  however,  of  the  incident  at  Gal- 
veston,  when  he  had  been  the  only  auditor  of  her  lecture 
on  "  woman's  rights,"  and  when,  in  pity  for  her  lone- 
liness, he  had  offered  to  escort  her  to  her  hotel.  So  far 
as  he  could  perceive  she  had  not  recognized  him.  i '  Poor 
girl !"  he  thought,  "  she  was  too  much  cut  up  then  to 
look  at  me  even."  He  resolved,  however,  that  before 
he  left  the  house  he  would  recall  the  circumstance  to 
her  recollection.  It  was  the  starting-point  of  his  love, 
which,  notwithstanding  his  prejudices  against  the  cause 
she  was  then  advocating,  had  made  a  deeper  impression 
than  he  had  thought.  Besides,  had  he  not  the  right  to 
say  that  he  had  known  her  a  full  year  ?  Surely,  after  a 
man  has  known  a  woman  for  a  year  he  has  some  right 
to  be  a  little  demonstrative  toward  her  if  he  experiences 
a  touch  of  the  tender  passion !  Lai  was  not  disposed  to 
talk  much.  This  was  the  day  Tyscovus  was  expected 
to  reach  St.  Louis,  and  in  two  days  more  he  ought  to  be 


INFATUATION.  245 

in  New  York,  if  everything  went  well.  Perhaps  he  was 
even  now  reading  the  letter  that  she  had  sent,  and  that 
had  been  waiting  for  him  at  the  Planters'  House.  He 
might  telegraph  his  arrival  and  inform  her  when  he  would 
reach  New  York  ;  but  he  was  not  a  great  patron  of  that 
means  of  communication,  except  in  mere  business  mat- 
ters. He  seemed  to  have  a  dread  of  exhibiting,  even  to 
the  two  or  three  necessary  individuals,  his  feelings,  or 
even  his  movements,  so  far  as  they  concerned  her.  She 
had  never  had  a  telegram  from  him  except  the  one  an- 
nouncing his  election  and  his  intention  of  being  in  New 
York  in  a  few  days. 

Necessarily,  too,  she  had  thought  much  during  the 
last  few  days  of  her  future  movements.  She  knew  that 
Tyscovus  would  pass  the  winter  in  Washington,  and  she 
experienced  a  very  natural  desire  to  do  likewise  ;  but  her 
good  sense  had  come  to  her  aid,  as  it  had  often  done  be- 
fore, and  she  had  finally  determined  that  she  would  re- 
main in  New  York  and  go  on  with  her  work.  As  she 
advanced  in  knowledge,  the  desire  for  more  grew  upon 
her,  and  she  looked  forward  with  delight  to  the  time 
when  Tyscovus  would  be  her  instructor.  But  she  knew 
that  she  would  be  far  more  capable  of  advancing  under 
his  guidance  after  she  had  become  better  acquainted 
with  the  elementary  principles  that  were  now  being  in- 
stilled into  her.  And  hence  she  had  decided  adversely 
to  the  emotion  that  filled  her  heart,  content  to  suffer 
present  pain  for  the  ultimate  good  of  her  future  husband, 
as  well  as  of  herself  ;  for  she  well  understood  that  in 
making  the  sacrifice  of  her  own  feelings  she  was  acting 
as  much  with  a  view  to  his  happiness  as  to  her  own. 

Still,  she  had  made  her  decision  without  regard  to  him, 
and  with  a  saving  clause,  which  she  felt  might  yet  alter 


246  A   STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

her  determination,  that  if  he  was  very  anxious  for  her 
to  go  to  Washington,  she  might  be  obliged  to  yield  to 
his  wish.  Therefore,  she  felt  a  little  unsettled,  and  that, 
after  all,  the  matter  rested  with  Tyscovus.  Perhaps,  too, 
some  way  might  be  found  by  which  she  could  not  only 
accompany  her  father  to  Washington  and  pass  the  winter 
in  that  city,  but  might  continue  her  studies  with  as  much 
thoroughness  as  they  were  now  receiving.  If  she  had 
had  some  experience  of  the  efficacy  of  riches  and  social 
position,  she  would  have  known  that  there  are  few  things 
that  their  combined  power  cannot  accomplish. 

To  say  that  Moultrie  was  proud  of  his  wife,  would 
scarcely  express  the  full  extent  of  the  feeling  he  experi- 
enced. When  she  had  exhibited  so  markedly  before  a 
thousand  people  the  sense  of  her  dependence  on  him  and 
her  recognition  of  his  supremacy,  he  was,  as  we  have 
said,  entirely  taken  by  surprise.  Such  magnanimity  was 
a  revelation  to  him.  He  knew  better  than  any  one  else 
in  the  world  all  the  good  qualities  of  his  wife  ;  he  under- 
stood just  how  generous  she  could  be  when  occasion  re- 
quired. And  if  he  had  not  given  her  credit  for  such 
sublime  self-abnegation  and  loftiness  of  soul  as  that  one 
act  showed  her  to  possess,  it  was  because  there  had  never 
before  been  an  occasion  of  sufficient  importance  to  call 
out  her  latent  wealth  of  nobility. 

When  in  the  carriage  on  her  way  home  she  had  an- 
nounced her  determination  to  resign  her  professorship, 
he  had  said  nothing  on  the  subject,  for  his  mind  was 
completely  engrossed  with  the  other  weighty  piece  of 
information  she  had  given  him,  although  he  had  seen  no 
reason  why  she  should  have  arrived  at  such  a  conclusion. 
On  their  arrival  home,  however,  he  had  at  once  men- 
tioned the  subject.  She  was  in  her  boudoir  drinking  a 


INFATUATION.  247 

cup  of  tea  when  he  brought  the  matter  up  for  discus- 
sion. 

It  was  difficult  to  outdo  Moultrie  in  magnanimity. 
He  felt  that,  although  he  had  acted  honestly,  he  had  kept 
back  something  when  he  had  given  his  consent  and  ap- 
proval to  her  acceptance.  He  had  withheld  his  advice, 
actuated  by  several  motives,  all  of  which  were  entirely 
honorable,  and  based  upon  the  most  devoted  affection. 
Chief  among  these  had  been  his  desire  that  she  should 
be  free  to  do  as  she  pleased,  untrammelled  in  the  slightest 
respect ;  and  another,  scarcely  second  to  it,  was  his  con- 
viction that  she  would  erelong  of  her  own  accord  re- 
nounce her  connection  with  the  medical  college.  The 
renunciation  had,  however,  come  sooner  than  he  had  ex- 
pected, and  just  at  the  time  when  he  had  determined  to 
urge  her  to  continue  the  course  so  auspiciously  begun, 
satisfied  as  he  now  was  that  she  had  found  the  vocation 
the  requirements  of  which  she  could  not  only  adequately 
supply,  but  one  that  was  best  calculated  to  insure  her 
happiness.  His  doubt  on  both  these  heads  had  helped 
to  influence  him  in  withholding  his  advice. 

But  although  he  had  been  convinced  on  all  points,  and 
was  now  strenuous  in  advising  her  to  reconsider  her  last 
formed  determination,  Theodora  was  firm  in  her  con- 
viction that  she  ought  to  give  the  matter  up  at  once. 
There  were  many  mental  and  physical  reasons  why  she 
should  do  this,  besides  the  overwhelming  one  that  she 
had  now  an  object  in  life  that  would  absorb  all  the  in- 
terest she  had  to  give.  Her  heart  was  large,  but  it  was 
not  big  enough  to  hold  a  professorship  in  a  medical  col- 
lege besides  her  husband  and  baby.  To  be  sure,  he  had 
filled  it ;  but  then  his  duties  required  him  to  be  absent 
from  her  one  third  of  his  time,  and  she  could  very  readily, 


248  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

she  thought,  have  occupied  this  period  as  well  with  the 
professorship  as  with  anything  else.  She  took  nothing 
from  him.  Perhaps  after  awhile  she  might  have  found 
— in  accordance  with  Lai's  fears — occasion  to  change  her 
mind  in  this  respect.  But  now  her  baby — his  baby,  was 
coming.  No,  there  was  no  longer  room  for  the  profes- 
sorship of  physiology.  The  professorship  "  must  go." 
And  it  went.  Fortunately,  the  trustees  were  all  women  ; 
and  though  there  were  regrets,  there  were  no  heart-burn- 
ings on  either  side. 

But  to  return  to  the  dinner.  Like  other  dinners,  it 
came  to  an  end,  and  then,  after  Moultrie  and  Burton  had 
each  finished  a  small  cigar,  they  joined  the  ladies  in  the 
drawing-room,  whither  we  will  follow  them. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A   DECLARATION   AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES. 

WHEN  the  gentlemen  entered  the  drawing-room  Rachel 
Meadows,  who  was  a  very  brilliant  performer  on  the 
piano,  was  just  finishing  an  exceedingly  difficult  yet 
masterly  composition  of  Rubenstein's.  Burton  walked 
rapidly  toward  her  as  the  last  harmonious  bangs  were 
being  given. 

"  Don't  stop,  Miss  Meadows  !"  he  exclaimed,  seeing 
that  she  was  about  to  rise  from  the  instrument.  "  Please, 
as  a  personal  favor  to  me,  play  something  more.  If  you 
only  knew  how  music  moves  and  delights  me,  I'm  sure 
you  would,  out  of  very  charity,  grant  my  request." 

"  I'll  play  for  you  with  great  pleasure,  Mr.  Burton," 
said  Rachel,  with  sweetness,  sitting  down  again.  "  What 
shall  I  play?" 

"  Anything  you  like,  Miss  Meadows,"  said  the  Hon. 
Tom,  who  was  rapidly  becoming  infatuated.  "  Your 
taste  is  good  enough  for  me." 

' '  I'll  play  for  you  one  of  Liszt's  Rhapsodies  Hongroises. " 
She  struck  off  at  once  into  a  piece  that  called  for  all  her 
skill  and  sentiment,  and  she  used  both  with  such  effect 
that  when  she  had  finished  and  looked  up  at  Burton, 
who  was  leaning  over  her,  she  saw  that  his  eyes  were 
full  of  tears,  and  that  he  was  only  able  to  articulate  a  few 
indistinct  words  of  thanks. 

"  I'm  not  ashamed,"  he  said,  after  a  moment  or  two, 


250  A   STRONG  MINDED   WOMAN. 

during  which  he  had,  by  means  of  a  little  cough  and  a 
drawing  up  of  his  figure,  recovered  his  composure,  ' '  to 
let  you  see  how  easily  I  am  touched  by  such  music  as 
yours.  I  don't  know  that  it's  a  bad  point  in  a  man.  At 
any  rate,  I  can't  help  it." 

"  It  is  nothing  to  be  ashamed  of,  Mr.  Burton,  espe- 
cially in  you,  who  have  fought  so  gallantly  and  have 
shown  in  every  way  that  you  possess  so  many  fine  manly 
qualities." 

"  How  did  you  know  1  had  fought  ?  How  did  you 
know  anything  about  me  ?" 

"  Mrs.  Moultrie  has  been  telling  me  all  about  you,  and 
sounding  your  praises. " 

"  God  bless  her  !"  exclaimed  Burton,  instinctively. 
"  I  mean,"  he  said,  recovering  himself ,  "  that  she's  very 
kind  to  speak  of  me  at  all. " 

"  Yes,  she  said  you  had  fought  splendidly.  But  you 
were  on  the  wrong  side,  Mr.  Burton." 

"  Whichever  side  was  the  opposite  to  the  one  you 
were  on  was  the  wrong  one,  of  course.  But  I'm  thor- 
oughly reconstructed,  Miss  Meadows.  There  isn't  a  man 
that  lives  who  would  lay  down  his  life  for  the  old  flag 
sooner  than  I  would." 

"  That's  very  nice  ;  I  like  to  hear  a  man  talk  like 
that."  Then,  after  a  little  pause  :  "  I  had  a  friend  who 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay." 

"  In  the  navy  ?" 

"  Yes,  he  was  a  naval  officer." 

"  A  very  dear  friend  ?" 

"  Yes,"  with  a  sigh,  "  he  was  a  dear  friend." 

Burton  did  not  fail  to  mark  the  sigh  or  the  gravity  of 
manner  with  which  Rachel  had  spoken  of  the  incident. 
She  had  probably  been  engaged  to  him.  Still,  she  did 


A  DECLARATION  AND  ITS   CONSEQUENCES.     251 

not  appear  to  have  taken  his  death  so  seriously  to  heart 
as  to  be  morbid  on  the  subject.  Nearly  ten  years  had 
elasped  since  that  battle  was  fought,  and  if  she  had  been 
engaged  then  she  must  have  been  a  rather  precocious 
young  woman,  as  she  did  not  now  look  to  be  a  day  over 
twenty-five.  The  Hon.  Tom  Burton  was  a  man  of 
action.  Doubt,  suspense,  were  intolerable  to  him.  So 
soon  as  his  mind  was  made  up  on  any  subject,  he  went 
ahead  ;  but  if  the  occasion  required  it,  with  such  delicacy 
and  gentleness  of  manner  that  even  those  who  felt  that 
liberties  were  being  taken  with  them  could  not  find  it  in 
their  hearts  to  be  angry. 

Besides,  he  felt  that  he  had  a  right  to  know  everything 
concerning  Rachel  Meadows  that  might  influence  him 
in  his  course  toward  her.  He  was  already  head  and  ears 
in  love  with  her,  but  he  had  always  said  that  he  would 
never  marry  a  woman  who  had  ever  been  engaged  to 
another  man.  It  was,  therefore,  a  matter  of  immediate 
and  vital  importance  to  him  ;  for  if  Rachel's  heart  had 
never  yet  been  touched,  and  if  he  could  succeed  in  mak- 
ing the  first  deep  impression  upon  it,  it  was  not  at  all 
outside  of  the  potentialities  that  he  would  declare  him- 
self within  the  following  ten  minutes.  He  must  find 
out,  therefore,  and  at  once,  what  had  been  the  relations 
between  Rachel  and  the  young  naval  officer,  but  he  must 
go  about  the  business  with  delicacy  and  tact,  so  as  to  run 
no  risk  of  wounding  her  sensibilities  or  of  appearing  like 
an  impertinent  busybody,  meddling  with  other  people's 
affairs. 

"  Miss  Meadows,"  he  said,  at  last,  "  do  you  know  that 
you  and  I  are  old  acquaintances  ?" 

"  Old  acquaintances  !     How  is  that  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  I  have  known  you  for  almost  a  year." 


252  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

Seeing  that  Kachel  did  not  understand  him,  Burton 
continued  : 

"  It  was  nearly  a  year  ago  that  I  first  met  you.  You 
were  giving  a  lecture  in  Galveston.  I  was  one  of  your 
audience,  and  when  you  had  finished,  seeing  that  you 
were  alone,  I  offered  to  escort  you  to  your  hotel — an  offer, 
however,  which  you  very  politely  but  firmly  declined." 

"  Are  you  the  gentleman  who,  pitying  my  forlorn 
condition  and  my  palpable  failure,  stayed  all  through  iny 
lecture,  and  then  kindly— 

"  Yes,"  interrupted  Burton,  "  I  am  the  man." 

"  How  strange  that  we  should  meet  again  and  under 
such  different  conditions  !  You  were  my  only  audience 
then.  Everybody  else  had  left  the  hall ;  I  felt  as  though 
I  should  die  of  vexation  and  a  sense  of  my  failure  to 
interest  the  people  in  what  was  then  so  near  my  heart." 

"  It  looks  to  me  very  much  like  destiny,  Miss  Mead- 
ows. We  can't  control  fate,  you  know." 

"  I  have  often  thought  of  that  incident.  It  was  very 
kind  of  you  to  stay  and  to  listen  to  what  you  did  not 
care  about,  merely,  too,  to  prevent  my  being  left  utterly 
alone.  And  very  good  of  you  to  offer  me  your  assist- 
ance afterward.  I  only  declined,  Mr.  Burton,  because 
my  maid  was  in  the  adjoining  room,  and  the  hotel  was 
just  across  the  street." 

"  I  took  a  great  interest  in  you  then,  Miss  Meadows," 
said  the  Hon.  Tom,  with  his  most  diplomatic  manner — - 
"  an  interest,  I  may  say,  that  has  never  diminished.  I 
heard  you  speak  the  other  night  at  Moultrie's  meeting, 
and  then  I  felt  the  emotion  which  had  lain  dormant  in 
my  breast  quicken  into  life,  until  now— 

u  Oh,  Mr.  Burton !"  exclaimed  Eachel,  who  instinc- 
tively felt  that  this  plunging  admirer  was  getting  into 


A  DECLARATION  AND  ITS   CONSEQUENCES.     253 

water  so  deep  that  he  might  have  difficulty  in  extricating 
himself.  u  You  were  not  at  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay  ?" 

"  No,"  said  Burton,  recovering  himself  and  recollect- 
ing a  point  which  had  gone  out  of  sight ;  "  I  was  in  the 
cavalry,  and  there  was  no  place  for  us  in  a  naval  fight. 
But  you  were  speaking  of  a  dear  friend  who  was  killed  ; 
I  should  think  you  must  have  been  very  young  at  that 
time — too  young,  in  fact,  to — to — " 

u  Too  young,"  exclaimed  Rachel,  laughing,  "  to  have 
been  in  love  !  No,  I  was  not  in  love  with  him,"  she 
continued,  seriously,  ''but  I  liked  him  very  much.  I 
was  only  fifteen  then,  but  we  had  been  a  good  deal  to- 
gether, and  if  he  had  lived  I  might  have  liked  him  still 
more. " 

Burton  felt  thankful  for  the  Confederate  bullet  that 
had  taken  this  dangerous  friend  out  of  the  way,  though 
he  was  hypocritical  enough  to  look  very  grave.  His 
resolution  was  formed  in  an  instant.  He  would  marry 
Rachel  Meadows  if  he  could  ;  and  he  would,  if  he  did 
not  propose  that  night,  make  sure,  if  possible,  that  his 
case  was  not  a  hopeless  one. 

u  You  were  speaking  at  dinner  of  going  to  Venice," 
he  said.  u  Do  you  sail  soon  ?" 

"  We  go  in  February,  to  remain  abroad  at  least  a  year — 
perhaps  longer." 

"  If  my  plans  succeed,  I  shall  go  at  about  the  same 
time  ;  I  hope  to  see  a  good  deal  of  you  there,  Miss  Mead- 
ows. Old  friends,  such  as  we  are,  with  so  many  similar 
tastes,  ought  to  find  pleasure  in  each  other's  society." 

"  You  are  fond  of  music.     Do  you  play  or  sing  ?" 

"  I  used  to  play  the  guitar  when  1  was  a  much  younger 
man  than  I  am  now,  and  strum  a  little  in  the  way  of  ac- 
companiment on  the  piano." 


254  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Burton,  then  you  sing  !  Sit  down  here 
and  sing  something  now." 

"  But  since  I  have  gone  into  war  and  politics  and  gon- 
dola-making," continued  Burton,  "  I've  given  up  music 
altogether,  except  my  love  for  it.  That  I  shall  never 
renounce. " 

"  But  you  must  recollect  something.  Mrs.  Moultrie," 
continued  Rachel,  addressing  Theodora,  who  was  talking 
with  her  husband  and  Lalage  in  a  remote  part  of  the 
room,  u  Mr.  Burton  sings,  and  I  am  trying  to  induce 
him  to  do  so  now.  Won't  you  join  your  supplications 
to  mine?" 

"  He  had  better  sing  now  while  he  is  rejoicing  over 
his  gondola  scheme,"  laughed  Moultrie,  "  for  I  see  by 
the  evening  papers  that  the  Venetians  are  contemplating 
filling  up  their  canals  and  laying  down  a  net-work  of 
street  railways.  Doesn't  that  take  the  romance  out  of 
you,  Burton,  as  well  as  demolish  your  financial  visions  ?" 

"  Oh,  they'll  talk  about  it  for  ten  years  before  they 
begin  to  do  it,"  said  Burton,  "  and  by  that  time  we  shall 
have  manufactured  a  hundred  thousand  gondolas.  But, ' ' 
turning  to  Rachel,  "  I'll  sing  for  you  without  any  solici- 
tations from  them.  And  I'll  sing  a  little  serenade  that 
fits  exactly  to  our  relations  as  they  will  be  in  Venice. 
You  must  imagine  yourself  at  the  window  of  an  old 
palazzo,  now  a  hotel,  and  me  in  a  gondola  underneath. 
Mind,  now,  this  is  a  true  story." 

Then  running  his  fingers  over  the  keys  in  a  way  that 
showed  he  was  more  of  an  adept  at  the  instrument  than 
his  words  implied,  he  sang  in  a  strong  though  melodious 
tenor  voice  : 

"  My  gondola's  waiting  below,  love, 
Oh,  look  from  thy  lattice  to-night ! 


A  DECLARATION  AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES.     255 

The  waters  invitingly  flow,  love, 
The  moon  on  their  bosom  shines  bright. 

Then  come,  and  we'll  glide 

O'er  the  rippling  tide, 
And  we'll  watch  the  gay  crowd  on  the  shore  ; 

And  the  gondolier's  song, 

As  our  bark  sweeps  along, 
Shall  keep  time  to  the  dip  of  his  oar. 

"  Oh,  dread  not  the  balcony's  height,  love, 

It  is  but  a  step  to  my  arms  ; 
Think  not  the  silk  ladder  too  light,  love, 
Nay,  dear  one,  dismiss  thine  alarms. 
Oh,  don't  let  us  miss 
Such  a  twilight  as  this, 

But  we'll  seize  the  bright  hours  as  they  flee  ; 
Kemember  the  sweetest 
Are  ever  the  fleetest ; 
Then  haste,  love,  and  share  them  with  me." 

The  plaudits  from  the  other  end  of  the  room  were  loud 
and  long  as  Burton  finished  the  song,  and  many  encomi- 
ums were  passed  on  his  voice  and  method  and  the  applic- 
ability of  the  subject  to  the  one  they  had  been  discuss- 
ing. They  did  not  know  a  tithe  of  the  truth  they  were 
unwittingly  speaking,  for  he  had  sung  it,  intending  that 
Rachel  should,  as  he  said,  take  the  words  as  being  ad- 
dressed to  her. 

She  had  stood  by  his  side  while  he  was  singing,  and 
she  was  still  standing,  her  hands  resting  on  the  piano. 
Every  word  of  the  song  had  reached  her  ears,  for  his 
enunciation  was  faultless,  and  the  simple  melody  to 
which  they  had  been  sung  had  served  to  increase  the 
effect  they  were  intended  to  produce.  She  was  moved 
by  them  in  a  way  that  she  had  never  been  moved  before. 
What  did  this  man— this  frank,  open-hearted,  warm- 
hearted, impetuous,  masterful  man,  mean  ?  Was  he  court- 


256  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

ing  her,  or  was  he  trying  to  make  fun  of  her  ?  Her  asso- 
ciations had  hitherto,  with  the  Exception  of  the  episode 
of  ten  years  ago,  been  confined  almost  exclusively  to 
members  of  her  own  sex,  most  of  whom  had  united  in 
abusing  man  and  holding  him  up  before  her  eyes  as  in- 
ferior to  woman  in  everything  but  brute  force.  But  here 
was  a  man,  strong,  brave,  intelligent,  who  had  acquired  a 
national  reputation  as  an  orator,  and  of  whom  her  friends 
at  the  other  end  of  the  room  had  spoken  as  the  soul  of 
honor,  showing  that  he  had  all  a  woman's  gentleness  and 
kindness  of  heart,  and  who,  if  he  was  not  false  to  the 
core,  was  strenuously  making  love  to  her.  If  this  was 
courting,  she  liked  it.  She  remembered  that,  only  a  few 
days  ago,  she  had  told  her  friend  Miss  Richardson  that 
she  had  often,  in  her  loneliness,  yearned  for  a  refuge  in 
the  arms  of  some  strong  man  whom  she  could  love,  and 
upon  whom  she  might  rely  as  a  protector  and  guide. 
Was  this  the  man  ?  Had  he  come  so  soon  after  the  ex- 
pression of  her  wish — so  soon  as  almost  to  seem  to  her 
as  though  it  had  been  specially  ordered  by  the  interposi- 
tion of  a  higher  power  ? 

And  yet  she  felt  afraid  of  him.  It  was  all  so  new  to 
her  that  she  could  scarcely  understand  it.  What  could 
he  see  in  her  to  excite  such  evident  admiration — an  ad- 
miration that  was  being  expressed  in  every  word  and 
look,  and  in  every  action  that  had  any  reference  to  her  ? 
If  she  spoke  to  him,  his  face  at  once  lit  up  with  a  bright 
expression,  which  showed  his  interest  and  his  pleasure. 
If  she  turned  her  eyes  toward  him,  she  found  that  his 
were  fixed  on  her,  and  that  he  had  been  regarding  her  as 
though  she  were  some  kind  of  a  magnet  attracting  his 
gaze,  whether  he  would  or  no. 

And  now  this  song  !     How  was  she  to  take  it  ?     He 


A  DECLAKATION  AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES.     257 

had  declared  that  he  meant  it  seriously,  and  yet  it  con- 
tained expressions  that  were  surely  only  such  as  a  lover 
might  apply  to  his  mistress,  and  altogether  inadmissible 
from  a  gentleman  to  a  lady  with  no  other  tie  than  that 
of  acquaintanceship  between  them.  The  situation  was 
an  embarrassing  one,  and  she  could  not  make  up  her 
mind  how  she  should  act.  She  therefore  awaited  with 
anxiety  the  end  of  the  song,  for  then  she  knew  she 
should  have  to  say  something.  And  yet  it  was  pleasant 
to  have  this  strong  man  at  her  feet  making  love  to  her. 
It  was  much  pleasanter  than  the  devotion  of  Miss  Rich- 
ardson, but  it  was  at  the  same  time  much  more  perplex- 
ing. What  should  she  say  when  he  had  finished  the 
song  ?  The  last  lines  were  being  sung  ;  she  knew  that  a 
few  more  words  would  be  uttered,  and  then  a  crisis 
would  be  reached.  There  was  no  middle  course  that  she 
could  take.  She  must  either  approve  or  disapprove. 
True,  she  might  regard  it  all  as  a  joke,  but  he  had  told 
her  he  meant  every  word  of  it,  and  that  it  was  "  a  true 
story."  And,  besides,  she  did  not  wish  to  treat  it  as  a 
joke.  To  do  so  after  what  he  had  said,  and  especially 
after  the  feeling  manner  with  which  he  was  singing, 
would,  she  thought,  be  idiotic.  It  would  certainly  be 
rude.  But  the  end  was  'approaching.  The  last  line, 

"Then  haste,  love,  and  share  them  with  me," 


had  come,  and  he  was  playing  the  few  notes  of 
Yes,  he  had  stopped,  and  there  she  was,  standing  by  his 
side,  with  her  hands  resting  on  the  piano,  looking,  she 
had  no  doubt,  like  a  goose—  certainly  feeling  like  one. 
The  situation  every  moment  became  more  awkward.  If 
he  would  only  say  something  !  Or  if  the  ground  would 
only  open  and  swallow  her  up  she  would  be  thankful.  But 


258  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

no  ;  there  he  sat  looking  at  her.  She  felt  he  was  look- 
ing at  her  ;  she  knew  he  was  looking  at  her  ;  and  yet 
she  dared  not  turn  her  eyes  toward  him,  for  then  he 
would  see  that  they  were  full  of  tears.  Presently  she 
became  aware — how  she  could  never  determine — that  he 
was  doing  something.  She  did  not  know  what  ;  but  she 
was  sure  that,  after  his  imperative  manner,  he  was  tak- 
ing the  initiative  and  doing  something  that  would  bring 
the  crisis  to  an  end.  Perhaps  she  felt  the  jarring — if 
there  were  any — of  the  piano,  or  perhaps  she  heard  the 
gentle  gliding  of  his  hand  over  the  polished  surface. 
She  did  not  have  long  to  cogitate,  for  in  a  moment  she 
felt  his  hand  placed  on  top  of  hers.  Now  she  must  de- 
termine, and  that  instantly.  Longer  'delay  would  com- 
promise her  past  redemption.  She  might  draw  her 
hand  away  and  assume  an  indignant  air,  and  say,  '4  Mr. 
Burton  !"  or,  in  the  phrase  of  the  Sierras,  u  words  to 
that  effect,"  and  then  he  would  retreat,  and  she  would 
be  relieved  from  further  attacks.  Or  she  might  do  noth- 
ing, and  then — why,  then  that  would  be  the  end  of  the 
crisis,  too,  but  in  a  way  as  different  from  the  other  end- 
ing as  day  is  from  night.  It  would  be  her  "  day,"  the 
other  would  be  her  "  night." 

"  Rachel,  will  you  '  share  them  with  me  '  ? " 
For  the  life  of  her  she  could  not  have  spoken  a  word. 
She  felt  a  strangling  sensation  in  her  throat,  and  her 
eyes  were  still  full  of  tears,  that  were  falling  like  rain  on 
the  Hon.  Tom's  hand,  which  hid  her  own  little  one 
entirely  from  sight. 

"  My  darling  !" — oh,  how  sweet  to  her  were  the 
words  ! — "  don't  speak.  "We  can't  go  any  farther  just 
now  ;  but  if  those  people  were  out  of  the  next  room  I'd 
—well,  never  mind.  "We'll  go  to  Venice  together,  and, 


A   DECLARATION   AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES.     259 

by  the  immortal  shade  of  Sam  Houston  !  you  shall  have 
the  finest  gondola  that  ever  floated  on  the  Euxine  Sea." 

"  But  Venice  is  not  on  the  Euxine,"  said  poor  Kachel, 
taking  refuge  in  Burton's  bad  geography  to  bring  the 
situation  to  an  end.  "  It's  on  the  Adriatic." 

"  Of  course  it  is.  But  you've  knocked  everything 
out  of  my  head  except  the  idea  of  your  own  sweet  self. 
What  do  I  care  now  whether  it's  on  the  Euxine  or  the 
Adriatic?" 

"  But  you  are  so  sudden  !  You  don't  give  one  time 
to  think." 

u  That's  true,"  said  Burton,  after  a  moment's  reflec- 
tion. "  But  you'll  be  going  home  soon,  I  suppose,  and 
I'll  hand  you  into  your  carriage,  and  I'll  bid  you  good- 
night, and  if  you  say  to  me  then,  '  Good-night,  Tom,' 
I'll  know  it's  all  right,  and  to-morrow,  at  three  o'clock, 
I'll  come  to  see  you,  and  then  we'll  settle  all  the  pre- 
liminaries. That's  fair,  isn't  it  ?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  Rachel,  with  a  smile  that  went 
straight  to  Burton's  heart,  and  left  no  doubt  on  his  mind 
as  to  what  she  would  say.  "  And  now  I  think  we  had 
better  join  our  friends." 

"  Of  course,  dear,"  said  the  perfidious  Tom,  as  they 
walked  slowly  into  the  other  room,  "  1  want  to  leave 
your  mind  perfectly  unbiassed  ;  but  at  the  same  time,  if 
you  should  say — even  by  accident — '  Good-night,  Mr. 
Burton,'  I  should  turn  right  round  and  make  my  way  to 
the  East  Eiver  by  rapid  stages." 

"  And  what  would  you  do  when  you  got  there  ?"  said 
Kachel,  who  had  now  quite  recovered  her  composure, 
and  who  was  in  the  vein  for  torturing  her  captive,  and 
who,  moreover,  enjoyed  every  fresh  declaration  of  in- 
fatuation that  he  might  make. 


260  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Jump  in,"  replied  Burton,  sententiously. 

"  But  why  the  East  Eiver  ?"  persisted  Rachel,  with  a 
smile  which  gave  evidence  of  the  delighted  frame  of 
mind  that  she  was  in. 

"  Well,  it's  nearer,  and,  besides,  it's  deeper,  and  colder, 
and  nastier,  and  the  tide's  stronger,  and  my  dead- body 
would  be  swept  away  out  to  sea,  and  never  more  be 
gazed  upon  by  mortal  eye." 

"  But  it  would  be  such  a  pretty  thing  for  the  mer- 
maids to  look  at !  Don't  you  think,  Mrs.  Moultrie,  that 
Mr.  Burton's  dead  body  would  be  a  refreshing  sight  to 
the  mermaids  ?"  she  continued,  addressing  Theodora. 

"  Miss  Meadows,"  said  the  mendacious  Burton,  "  has 
been  proposing  that  I  should  drown  myself  in  the  East 
River  in  order  to  afford  a  pleasing  spectacle  to  the  mer- 
maids." 

"Never  having  seen  Mr.  Burton's  dead' body,"  said 
Theodora,  laughing,  "  and  not  being  acquainted  with 
the  aesthetic  proclivities  of  mermaids,  1  am  unable  to 
answer  the  question." 

"  Besides,  there  are  no  mermaids  in  the  East  River," 
said  Moultrie.  "  There  may  have  been  once,  but  sludge 
acid  and  petroleum  have  long  since  killed  them.  You 
will  have  to  drown  yourself  in  the  Adriatic,  Burton, 
after  you  get  to  Venice." 

"  A  telegram,  sir  !"  said  Fran§ois,  who  had  quietly 
entered  the  room  and  was  holding  a  salver  before  Moul- 
trie. 

"  Is  it  for  me,  father  ?"  said  Lai,  anxiously. 

"No,  my  dear  ;  it  is  directed  to  me.  Sign  the  re- 
ceipt, please,  while  I  read  it." 

Moultrie  opened  the  envelope,  and  as  he  read  the  dis- 
patch a  troubled  expression  passed  over  his  features. 


A  DECLARATION  AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES.      261 

He  held  it  before  his  eyes  for  some  little  time,  as  though 
reading  it  over  and  over  again,  in  the  effort  to  get  at  its 
true  meaning.  Then  he  returned  it  to  the  envelope, 
which  he  placed  in  the  breast-pocket  of  his  coat. 

' '  There  is  no  answer, ' '  he  said  to  Francois,  who  had 
remained  in  the  room.  "  How  well  you  play,  Miss 
Meadows,"  he  continued,  addressing  Rachel.  "There 
are  few  public  performers  who  can  equal  you.  It  seems 
a  pity  that  one  with  such  consummate  art  as  you  possess 
should  not  have  an  opportunity  to  allow  the  world  to 
enjoy  your  playing. ' ' 

"  You  are  very  kind  ;  but  were  I  to  set  up  for  a  pub- 
lic performer  I  should  be  obliged,  like  Punches  young 
man  and  his  necktie,  to  give  my  whole  mind  to  it." 

"  You  have  mind  enough  for  a  dozen  things  as  exact- 
ing as  that,"  interposed  Burton,  who  had  never  taken 
his  eyes  from  Rachel  since  rejoining  the  main  party. 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?"  questioned  Rachel,  smiling 
maliciously.  "  I  thought  you  denied  any  mental  pre- 
dominance to  woman,  except  in  the  mere  matter  of  the 
emotions.  Do  you  think  1  could  add  up  a  column  of 
figures  correctly,  or  work  out  a  simple  sum  in  the  (  rule 
of  three'?" 

"  The  i  rule  of  one  '  is  what  woman  should  seek  to 
understand,"  said  Burton,  laughing.  "If  she  studies 
that  thoroughly  she  can  govern  the  world. " 

Then  Rachel  rose  to  go,  a  servant  having  just  an- 
nounced that  her  carriage  was  at  the  door.  She  went 
up-stairs  to  put  on  her  wraps,  and  in  the  mean  time 
Burton,  thanking  Mrs.  Moultrie  for  the  delightful  even- 
ing he  had  passed — "  the  most  delightful  of  his  life"- 
bid  them  all  "  Good-night."  By  this  time  Rachel  had 
come  down-stairs  arrayed  in  her  cloak,  and  with  some- 


262  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

thing  light  and  flimsy  over  her  head.  Burton  thought 
he  had  never  seen  her  look  so  pretty,  and  after  she  had 
made  her  adieux  he  stopped  Moultrie,  who  was  about  to 
escort  her  to  her  carriage,  saying  that  he  would  do  him- 
self that  honor.  He  walked  by  her  side  as  they  descended 
the  steps  to  the  sidewalk.  Neither  had  as  yet  spoken  a 
word.  He  opened  the  carriage  door  and  assisted  her  to 
enter.  "  Good-night,  Rachel,"  he  said,  in  a  low,  but 
measured  and  feeling  voice.  For  a  moment  there  was 
no  reply.  Then  from  within  came  the  words,  clearly 
and  composedly  spoken,  "  Good-night,  Mr.  Burton  !" 

It  seemed  to  him  as  though  a  dagger  had  pierced  his 
heart.  For  an  instant  he  stood  as  though  petrified. 
Had  he  heard  aright  ?  Yes,  there  could  be  no  doubt  on 
that  point.  Then  he  closed  the  door  very  gently  and 
turned  away.  The  coachman  drew  up  his  reins,  and  the 
carriage  drove  rapidly  up  the  street,  while  Rachel, 
covering  her  face  with  her  hands,  wept  as  though  her 
heart  would  break.  But  only  for  a  few  moments. 
Opening  the  door,  she  called  to  the  coachman  : 

"  Drive  back  as  quickly  as  possible  to  Mr.  Moultrie's  1" 
The  man  turned  his  horses,  and  in  less  than  two  minutes 
from  the  time  of  starting  was  back  at  the  house.  Rachel 
looked  out  of  the  window,  but  there  was  no  one  there. 
She  opened  the  door  and  gazed  up  and  down  the  street, 
but  there  was  no  one  in  sight  save  an  old  woman  and  a 
boy  carrying  a  basket  between  them,  and  a  young  man  of 
dilapidated  appearance,  who,  seeing  that  she  was  looking 
for  some  person,  approached  the  carriage. 

"  Were  you  a-wantin'  some  one,  lady  ?"  he  said, 
standing  somewhat  unsteadily  on  his  feet  and  staring  in 
at  the  open  door. 

"  Yes,  a  gentleman  whom  1  left  here  a  moment  ago." 


A   DECLAKATION   AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES.      263 

"  I  seen  a  gentleman  go  round  the  corner  not  two 
minutes  since.  Was  he  a  tall  gentleman  with  a  plug  hat 
and  an  overcoat  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  which  way  did  he  go  ?" 

u  Well,  it's  worth  a  dollar,  1  guess,  to  tell,"  said  the 
man,  "  'specially  as  you  'pears  to  be  so  mighty  anxious." 

She  took  out  her  porte-monnaie,  and  was  in  the  act  of 
opening  it,  when  the  fellow  seized  it  and  dashed  down 
the  street  as  fast  as  his  legs  could  carry  him.  Rachel 
gave  a  little  shriek,  and  the  coachman,  looking  round, 
saw  the  man  running  ;  but  there  was  no  one  to  make 
pursuit,  and  in  a  moment  or  two  he  was  out  of  sight. 

"  Go  home  !"  she  said  to  the  coachman,  throwing  her- 
self back  in  the  carriage.  "  O  Tom  !  Tom  !"  she  con- 
tinued, as  the  vehicle  rattled  over  the  street,  "  I  think  I 
am  the  wickedest  woman  in  the  world,  for  I've  broken 
your  heart.  I  saw  it  in  that  last  look  of  your  eyes  ;  and 
I've  broken  my  own,  too.  God  help  me  for  a  wicked 
woman  !" 

The  drive  home  was  not  a  long  one,  but  it  was  suffi- 
ciently lasting  for  Rachel  in  a  measure  to  recover  her 
composure  and  to  make  some  attempt  to  account  to  her- 
self for  her  eccentric  behavior.  When  she  went  up- 
stairs before  leaving  Moultrie's  she  had  fully  resolved 
what  form  of  "  good-night"  to  address  to  her  lover. 
The  ardor  he  had  shown,  the  evident  infatuation  that 
possessed  him,  his  rapid,  fervid  way  of  approaching  her 
heart,  had  united  to  produce  an  effect  not  unlike  that 
which  usually  followed  his  efforts  in  other  directions.  It- 
was  this  power  to  influence  others  that  made  him  so  val- 
uable as  a  public  speaker,  and  that  had  caused  Bishop 
Crocker,  as  Theodora  had  told  her,  to  remark,  a  night 
or  two  ago  at  a  dinner-party,  that  if  Burton  were  only  in 


264  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

orders  he  would  make  a  better  missionary  to  the  heathen 
than  any  man  he  had  ever  known. 

And  not  only  had  his  manner  and  his  sentiments 
toward  her  impressed  her,  as  he  had  intended  they 
should,  but  his  own  personality  had  exercised  even  more 
influence.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  even  if 
Burton  had  not  fallen  in  love  with  her  she  would  have 
fallen  in  love  with  him.  Here  was  the  strong  man, 
handsome  in  face  and  figure,  brave,  honorable,  tender, 
and  every  word  and  action  showing  that  he  was  true.  A 
little  time  and  opportunity  would  have  caused  her,  as 
she  well  knew,  to  yield  her  heart.  Now,  instead  of 
having  been  taken  by  siege  and  by  slow  approaches,  it 
had  been  captured  by  storm.  The  result  was  the  same  : 
it  had  been  taken,  she  had  fallen  in  love  witli  him,  and 
had  thus  reached  in  a  couple  of  hours  what,  but  for  his 
momentum,  would  have  been  equally  certain  to  have 
been  attained,  though  perhaps  not  for  several  months. 
Yes,  she  would  say  "  Good-night,  Tom,"  and  then  he 
would  be  her  accepted  lover.  Indeed,  was  he  not  al- 
ready that  ?  Had  she  not  by  her  conduct  at  the  piano, 
when  she  had  allowed  him  to  hold  her  hand  and  address 
terms  of  endearment  to  her,  committed  herself  beyond 
the  point  from  which  she  could  retreat  with  honor  ? 
That  also  was  true.  She  owed  her  present  opportunity 
for  reconsideration  altogether  to  his  generosity.  She 
had  already  virtually  accepted  him,  but  he,  in  his  mag- 
nanimity, and  fearful  that  he  had  pushed  her  too  hard, 
had  given  her  another  chance. 

All  this  she  thought  before  she  left  the  drawing-room 
and  on  her  way  up  the  stairs  until  she  reached  the  hall 
above.  There  a  sudden  revulsion  took  place,  not  in  her 
feelings,  but  in  her  determination  relative  to  the  words 


A  DECLARATION   AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES.      265 

she  was  to  speak  to  Burton  at  the  carriage-door.  The 
event  was  curious  as  showing  how  the  most  strongly -im- 
planted intention  can  be  changed  with  startling  sudden- 
ness by  a  very  slight  cause.  At  the  head  of  the  stairs 
hung  a  painting  by  a  celebrated  artist  representing  a 
young  woman  who  is  about  to  leave  her  home  in  com- 
pany with  a  handsome  soldier,  who  is  apparently  a  new 
acquaintance,  belonging  to  a  troop  passing  through  the 
village.  Through  the  open  door  leading  to  the  street 
soldiers  mounted  and  on  foot  are  seen.  The  girl  has  a 
bundle  in  her  hand  ;  she  has  evidently  only  a  moment 
before  hastily  put  on  her  bonnet  and  shawl,  and  she  is 
looking,  with  a  mild  expression  of  regret  on  her  face, 
into  an  adjoining  room,  where  her  father  and  mother  are 
sitting. 

Rachel  stood  and  looked  at  the  picture,  unable  at  first 
to  make  out  its  meaning.  The  handsome  young  soldier 
has  his  arm  around  the  girl's  waist,  and  is  apparently 
drawing  her  toward  the  open  door,  to  the  lintel  of  which 
his  horse  is  hitched.  It  was  not  very  clear  to  her  what 
the  artist  had  intended  to  depict.  The  scene  might 
refer  to  one  of  several  quite  different  events.  She 
smiled  as  she  studied  it,  being  reminded  of  a  portion  of 
the  frieze  in  the  drawing-room  she  had  just  left,  which 
was  a  copy  of  the  Bayeux  tapestry  embroidered  by 
Queen  Matilda.  One  of  the  sections  represented  two 
men  with  things  in  their  hands  which  might,  by  a  power- 
ful stretch  of  the  imagination,  be  supposed  to  be  meant 
for  lighted  torches,  which  they  were  holding  againet 
something  else  which  was  not  like  anything  in  "  the 
heavens  above,  the  earth  beneath,  or  in  the  waters  under 
the  earth."  The  legend,  however,  "Hie  domus  incen- 
ditur,"  made  the  matter  clear.  She  looked  for  a  legend 
12 


266  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

here,  and  at  last,  on  a  little  gilt  slip  of  wood,  almost 
hidden  from  sight  in  a  depression  of  the  frame,  she  dis- 
covered it.  Bending  over  she  read,  "  Lightly  Won.5' 
The  whole  story  sought  to  be  told  by  the  artist  flashed  in 
an  instant  across  her  mind.  A  passing  trooper,  one 
whom  the  girl  had  never  seen  before,  had,  after  a  few 
words  of  love-making,  succeeded  in  gaining  her  love  and 
inducing  her  to  fly  with  him.  Had  she  not  herself  been 
almost  as  willing  as  the  girl  in  the  picture  ?  Had  she 
not  been  just  as  lightly  won  ?  Where  had  been  the 
maidenly  reserve,  the  timidity,  yes,  even  the  indignation 
that  she  ought  to  have  shown  when  this  man  had  dared 
to  speak  to  her  of  love  after  one  evening's  acquaintance  ? 
Had  she  not,  in  fact,  acted  in  accordance  with  the  prin- 
ciples that  various  masculine  slanderers  had  attributed  to 
those  women  that  believed  in  the  amplification  of  their 
rights  ?  Yes,  she  had  certainly  behaved  shamefully  ! 
She  had  allowed  this  man  to  take  it  for  granted  that  all 
he  had  to  do  was  to  ask  and  to  receive.  Only  to  open 
his  arms  for  her  to  fly  into  them  and  nestle  in  his  bosom. 
Fortunately  the  matter  was  still  within  her  control.  He 
had  himself,  of  his  own  free  will,  placed  it  there,  and 
she  had  only  to  bid  him  good-night  after  a  certain  for- 
mula which  he  said  would  be  a  negative  answer,  and  she 
would  be  free.  As  to  his  drowning  himself,  that,  of 
course,  was  idle  talk.  Men  did  not,  in  these  days, 
drown  themselves  for  the  love  of  women.  If  he  really 
cared  for  her  he  would  of  course  come  back,  and  then 
all  would  go  well.  That  she  loved  him  she  felt  well 
assured.  Her  true  heart  had  spoken  when  she  had  stood 
by  the  piano,  the  tears  falling  from  her  eyes  on  Burton's 
hand.  That  was  the  truth,  and  if  so,  what  was  this  ? 
Was  it  a  lie  that  she  was  going  to  aQt  ?  She  did  not  stop 
to  think,  but  the  question  she  had  last  put  to  herself 


A   DECLARATION  AND   ITS   CONSEQUENCES.      267 

somewhat  unsettled  her  in  her  determination  ;  not 
enough,  however,  to  cause  her  to  change  it.  She  was 
not  to  be  "  lightly  won."  The  man  who  wanted  her 
for  his  wife  must  woo  her,  and  if  he  could  win  her  she 
would  be  tender  and  true  to  him.  On  her  way  to  the 
carriage  she  did  not  dare  to  speak  a  word  to  Burton  lest 
something  to  change  her  purpose  might  grow  out  of  her 
remark.  She  had  heard  his  adieu,  "  Good-night,  Ra- 
chel," and  for  an  instant  she  had  wavered  ;  but  she  had 
nerved  herself  for  the  effort,  and  with  a  voice  without  a 
tremor  had  said,  "  Good-night,  Mr.  Burton,"  as  though 
she  were  addressing  an  acquaintance  to  whom  she  owed 
nothing  more  than  civility. 

But  the  effect  of  her  words  had  been  far  different 
from  what  she  had  expected.  The  look  of  deep  sorrow 
that  in  an  instant  overspread  Burton's  face  told  her  that 
she  had  struck  deep.  If  he  had  gotten  angry  and  had 
shut  the  door  with  a  bang,  she  would  have  felt  that  she 
had  not  done  altogether  wrong.  But  he  had  displayed 
an  emotion  of  quite  a  different  kind.  Then  instantly 
her  repentance  had  come. 

When  she  arrived  at  her  home  she  spoke  a  few  words 
to  her  mother,  and  then,  on  the  plea  of  feeling  tired, 
went  to  her  own  room.  She  was  not  long  in  concluding 
what  to  do.  She  would  write  to  him,  and  humbling 
herself  to  the  extent  that  might  be  necessary,  confess  her 
love  and  ask  forgiveness  for  her  fault.  He  might  not 
come  back  to  her.  The  insight  into  her  character  that 
the  incident  had  given  him  might  have  sufficed  to  de- 
stroy forever  the  illusion  she  had  created.  Well,  God 
help  her  if  it  should  be  so  !  But  she,  at  any  rate,  now 
that  her  senses  had  come  back  to  her,  must  undo  the 
wrong  she  had  committed,  for  she  felt  that  she  had 
spoken  a  wicked  lie. 


CHAPTER  XIT. 

A   DISAPPEARANCE. 

MOULTRIE  had  succeeded  so  well  in  concealing  the 
effect  produced  by  the  telegram  he  had  received  that 
neither  Theodora  nor  Lalage  suspected  that  it  was  any 
other  than  such  as  he  was  constantly  getting  from  politi- 
cal friends  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  But  after  the 
departure  of  their  guests  he  took  it  from  his  pocket,  and 
proceeded  to  read  it  to  his  wife  and  daughter. 

"  You  must  prepare  yourself  for  a  disappointment, 
Lai,"  he  said,  as  he  opened  the  envelope  and  spread  the 
telegram  out  on  the  table  before  him.  "  Tyscovus  will 
not  be  in  New  York  for  some  time  to  come  yet.  This 
is  what  he  says,  and  I  must  confess  that  I  don't  quite 
understand  him  : 

"  '  ST.  Louis,  November  20,  1874 

"  (  To  GEOFFREY  MOULTRIE,  ESQ.,  NEW  YORK  : 

"  '  Letters  received.  Will  go  to  Washington  in  a  few 
days  without  coming  to  New  York.  If  there  has  been 
any  misunderstanding  on  either  side,  you  can  then  help 
me  to  correct  it. 

"  4  JOHN  TYSCOVUS.'  " 

"  What  can  he  mean  ?"  said  Lai,  who,  while  her 
father  was  speaking  and  the  telegram  was  being  read, 
became  as  pale  as  a  ghost.  "  Not  coming  to  New  York, 


A  DISAPPEAKANCE.  269 

and  not  one  word  for  me  !  There  is  something  wrong — 
something  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge." 

"  Yes,"  resumed  Moultrie,  "that  is  very  evident; 
but  what  is  it  ?  Did  you  write  anything  that  could  by 
any  possibility  admit  of  a  false  interpretation  ?" 

"Nothing.  I  wrote  just  as  I  have  always  written, 
and  I  said  how  glad  we  should  all  be  to  see  him,  and," 
she  added,  a  little  color  coming  into  her  face  as  she 
spoke,  "  that  I  should  be  gladdest  of  all." 

"  You  wrote  also,  Geoffrey,  did  you  not  ?"  said  Theo- 
dora. "  Do  you  remember  what  you  said  ?" 

"  Perfectly,"  he  answered.  "  I  spoke  of  the  political 
change  here,  congratulated  him  on  his  election,  and 
referred  him  to  Lai's  letter  for  other  information.  I 
think  that  I  said  jokingly  that  she  had  sat  up  half  the 
night  writing  it,  and  that  her  eyes  that  morning  were,  in 
consequence,  not  so  bright  as  usual." 

"  It  is  very  strange,"  remarked  Theodora,  musingly. 
"  He  is  not  a  man  to  act  from  caprice  or  fancy.  Some 
strong  reason  has  caused  him  to  change  his  mind.  He 
spoke  of  misunderstandings.  Evidently,  whatever  they 
are,  they  have  been  induced  by  the  letters.  We  have, 
therefore,  no  very  extensive  field  to  investigate,  and 
doubtless  a  few  words  with  him  will  set  everything 
right." 

"  But  he  is  very  wrong,  mamma,"  said  Lai,  "  to 
let  anything — anything,"  she  repeated,  with  emphasis, 
"  cause  him  to  treat  me  in  this  way.  It  is  me  he  means, 
and  it  is  because  of  something  he  thinks  that  I  have  done 
that  he  is  not  corning  to  New  York.  It  is  very  wrong  ! 
Oh,  yes,  very  wrong,  and  it  is  he  who  must  explain, 
not  father  or  I !" 

"  I  think  you  are  right,  my  dear  child,"  said  Moul- 


270  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

trie,  feelingly.  "  We  are  conscious  of  no  wrong-doing 
on  our  part.  If  we  should  discover  that  either  of  us  has 
unwittingly  said  or  done  anything  to  wound  our  friend, 
it  would  be  our  duty  to  set  things  right  ;  but  in  the  ab- 
sence of  such  knowledge  it  is  for  us  to  be  silent.  There 
is  a  pride  which  all  true  men  and  women  should  possess, 
and  I  think  we  all  have  it." 

"  I  can  wait  patiently,  father,  for  the  right  to  be 
brought  out ;  and  in  the  mean  time,  while  we  think  he 
has  been  unjust,  we  must  not  be  too  hard  on  him,  for 
we  do  not  know  what  has  happened.  If  he  is  the  man 
we  think  he  is,  why,  then,  in  a  little  while  he  will  tell 
us." 

A  series  of  furious  rings  at  the  front- door  bell  inter- 
rupted the  conversation. 

"  It  must  be  either  a  fireman  or  a  policeman,"  said 
Moultrie,  going  into  the  hall.  "  Why,  good  Heavens, 
mother,  what  has  happened  ?"  he  exclaimed,  and  in  a 
moment  he  re-entered  the  room,  holding  the  dowager  by 
the  hand. 

In  their  surprise  at  this  late  and  unexpected  visit, 
Theodora  and  Lalage  had  risen  to  their  feet,  but  in  her 
agitation  the  elder  lady  did  not  appear  to  notice  them, 
though  she  looked  inquiringly  around  the  room. 

"  Has  Julia  been  here  to-day  ?"  she  said,  addressing 
the  question  to  no  one  in  particular,  though  at  last  her 
eyes  settled  on  Moultrie. 

"  No,"  he  answered,  "  I  think  not.  I  thought  she 
was  too  much  indisposed  to  be  out.'5 

"  So  1  thought !"  exclaimed  the  dowager.  "  But  this 
afternoon  she  got  up  and  announced  that  she  was  coming 
here  to  learn  something  about  that  lecture.  She  left  the 
house  at  about  four  o'clock,  and  has  not  been  seen  since. 


A  DISAPPEARANCE.  271 

I  went  to  her  room  a  few  minutes  ago,  and  found  this 
note  addressed  to  me  on  the  table.     Read  it. " 

She  handed  a  note  to  her  son,  and  he  read  as  follows  : 

"  '  DEAR  MOTHER  :  Do  not  be  alarmed  about  me.  I 
have  found  it  necessary  to  leave  the  city.  I  shall  be 
quite  safe,  and  you  will  soon  hear  more  of  me. 

"  '  Your  affectionate  daughter, 

"'  JULIA.'" 

"  Where  in  the  name  of  Heaven  can  she  have  gone  ?" 
said  Moultrie,  as  the  letter  fell  from  his  bands  in  his  as- 
tonishment at  its  contents. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  his  mother.  u  There  is 
only  one  thing  that  suggests  itself,  an  idea  that  would 
occur  to  any  one,  1  think,  but  that  cannot  be  true.  She 
has  always  been  prudent  and  good.  No,  no,  that  cannot 
be  true." 

"  No,  mother,"  said  Moultrie,  gravely,  "  that  is  im- 
possible. She  may  be  foolish,  she  may  even  be  wicked, 
but  she  would  not  disgrace  herself.  Is  there  no  clew  to 
where  she  has  gone  ?' ' 

"  No,  none.  I  have  thought  the  matter  over,  but  can 
discover  nothing.  For  the  last  two  weeks  she  has  not 
left  her  room  till  this  afternoon." 

"  What  did  she  take  with  her  ?" 

66  A  full  supply  of  clothes  and  two  large  trunks.  Her 
jewelry  and  other  valuables  she  has  left  behind.  Appar- 
ently she  lias  taken  only  those  things  that  a  woman 
would  require  for  use." 

"  Well,  she  must  have  had  her  trunks  taken  from  the 
house  by  an  expressman.  It  will,  I  think,  be  no  difficult 
matter  to  find  him,  as  well  as  the  hackman  who  took  her 
to  a  railway  station  or  ferry." 


272  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  She  left  the  house  on  foot ;  but  Richard  tells  me 
that  an  expressman  whom  he  did  not  know  came  for  her 
trunks  this  morning,  and  that  she  gave  him  directions 
where  he  was  to  take  them.  But  she  spoke  in  so  low  a 
tone  that  he  did  not  hear,  and  as  she  went  up-stairs  she 
said  something  which  he  did  hear  about  sending  them  to 
be  repaired." 

16  It  is  now  ten  o'clock,"  said  Moultrie,  looking  at  his 
watch.  "  I  shall  go  at  once  and  have  a  talk  with  Mal- 
colm, the  detective,  and  put  the  matter  into  his  hands. 
Depend  upon  it,  we  shall  know  in  twenty -four  hours 
who  took  the  trunks  away,  where  she  has  gone,  and 
probably  what  has  caused  her  to  leave  her  home.  Now, 
shall  I  take  you  home  first,  mother  ?" 

"  1  ran  over  with  Richard,  but  I  shall  be  very  glad  to 
have  you  see  me  home — unless,  indeed,  you  should  lose 
time.  Oh,  Geoffrey,  what  a  horrid  thing  this  is  !  I  am 
afraid  our  family  has  received  a  blow  from  which  it  will 
never  recover,  and  then  coming  so  soon  after — after  that 
other  dreadful  event." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  mother  ?"  interrupted  Moultrie. 
(They  were  out  in  the  hall  now,  where  he  was  putting 
on  his  overcoat.) 

"  Oh,  I  don't  wish  to  annoy  you,  Geoffrey,  but  of  course 
you  know  that  I  have  been  very  much  distressed  over 
that — shall  I  call  it  escapade  of  Theodora's,  which — 

"  Stop,  mother  !"  exclaimed  Moultrie,  in  a  tone  of 
such  severity  that  the  dowager  involuntarily  started  ; 
* '  you  had  better  not  say  escapade,  for  if  you  did  you 
would  be  insulting  my  wife,  and  that  I  should  not  allow 
you  to  do,  even  should  you  desire  to  attempt  it.  You 
have  a  perfect  right  to  your  own  opinions  relative  to  my 
wife's  conduct ;  but  if  they  are  offensive,  and  you  ven- 


A  DISAPPEARANCE.  273 

ture  to  inflict  them  on  me,  you  will  commit  an  error  that 
I  think  you  will  regret." 

"  Forgive  me,  Geoffrey  !"  exclaimed  his  mother.  "  1 
don't  know  what  I  am  saying.  This  last  affair  is  so  ut- 
terly shocking  that  it  has,  I  think,  driven  me  wild.  I 
will  never  allude  to  the  other  matter  again.  Of  course, 
it  is  not  so  bad  as  this,  and  after  a  while  perhaps  I  may 
look  at  it  quite  differently.  But  to  think  that  my  daugh- 
ter, my  only  daughter,  should  elope  clandestinely  from 
her  mother's  house  is  a  terrible  thing  to  me." 

"  She  could  not  have  gone  off  with  any  one  ?"  said 
Moultrie,  interrogatively,  as  they  passed  out  of  the  street 
door. 

"  Gone  off  with  any  one  !  gone  off  with  a  man  !  Oh, 
Geoffrey,  how  can  you  suggest  such  a  thing  ?  Remem- 
ber that  she  is  your  sister." 

"  True,"  he  answered  ;  "  but  my  suggestion,  as  you 
are  pleased  to  call  it,  is  scarcely  so  bad  as  the  one  you 
made  a  few  minutes  ago." 

"  But  then  I  am  not  responsible.  I  am  out  of  my 
mind,  while  you  are  as  cool  as  a  cucumber — almost  cal- 
lous, I  should  say." 

Moultrie  made  no  reply  to  this  charge,  knowing  full 
well  that  his  mother  if  met  at  one  point  would  bring 
forward  another,  and  that  the  better  plan,  when  her 
remarks  related  to  him  solely,  was  to  treat  them  with 
silence.  Besides,  in  his  present  frame  of  mind,  he  did 
not  care  to  dispute  or  to  argue  over  the  trivial  matters 
his  mother  was  disposed  to  introduce.  He  therefore 
turned  the  conversation  by  inquiring  whether  or  not 
Julia  had  shown  by  her  manner  that  anything  was  en- 
grossing her  mind. 

"  No,"  answered  the  dowager.      "  Stop  a  moment  !" 


274  A   STRONGT-MINDED   WOMAN. 

she  continued,  after  an  instant's  reflection.  "During 
the  last  two  weeks  she  certainly  has  not  been  herself. 
She  came  back  from  your  house  on  the  day  she  fainted 
looking  very  much  depressed,  and  at  once  took  to 
her  bed.  You  know  she  fainted  in  your  library  while 
Lalage  was  telling  her  some  horrid  story  about  her 
Polish  ancestors.  And  before  that,  after  you  went 
out,  she  nearly  lost  consciousness  over  something  else 
that  Lalage  said  to  her,  or  at  least  while  talking  with 
her." 

"  Yes,  I  know,"  said  Moultrie,  "  and  the  two  cir- 
cumstances struck  me  as  very  peculiar.  Julia  is  not  so 
squeamish  as  to  faint  over  a  story  of  events  that  took 
place  three  hundred  years  ago,  and  that  do  not  concern 
her  in  the  least.  Now,  I  have  inquired  about  those 
fainting  attacks,  and  I  find  that  they  both  occurred  while 
a  letter  was  being  discussed.  They  were  probably  in- 
duced by  something  that  had  a  special  application  to  her, 
and  they  may  have,  or  the  letter  may  have,  something 
to  do  with  her  present  disappearance.  But  here  we  are 
at  your  door.  I  will  see  you  inside,  and  then  1  must 
hurry  off  to  find  Malcolm." 

He  left  his  mother  in  her  own  hall,  and  then,  walking 
across  to  Sixth  Avenue,  jumped  into  a  street  railway 
car  on  his  way  down-town  to  Malcolm's  office.  He  had 
employed  the  famous  detective  several  times  in  business 
matters,  and  had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  his 
efficiency  and  honesty.  He  found  him  in  his  office,  sur- 
rounded by  papers,  and  intently  engaged  in  scrutinizing 
the-  photograph  of  a  woman  and  comparing  it  with  a 
portrait  on  ivory,  evidently  of  the  same  person,  but 
taken  when  the  subject  was  much  younger.  He  laid 
aside  his  occupation,  however,  as  soon  as  Moultrie 


A   DISAPPEARANCE.  275 

entered,  and  then  gave  full  attention  to  the  matter  the 
latter  had  to  disclose. 

"  When  I  come  to  you,  Malcolm,"  said  Moultrie,  "  I 
come  with  the  same  predisposition  I  should  have  if  I 
went  to  my  physician,  my  lawyer,  or  my  father-confess- 
or, if  I  had  one,  and  that  is  with  the  intention  of  telling 
him  everything  relating  to  the  affair  in  regard  to  which 
I  want  his  advice  or  assistance.  I  shall  accordingly  tell 
you  all  I  know,  and  even  my  suspicions,  and  shall  then 
answer  any  questions  you  may  choose  to  put."  As 
briefly,  therefore,  as  possible,  he  communicated  to  the 
detective  all  the  facts  that  either  directly  or  remotely 
related  to  Julia's  disappearance. 

"  Now,"  he  added,  as  he  concluded,  "  it  is  very  evi- 
dent to  me  that  in  some  way  or  other  my  sister's  flight 
is  connected  with  the  letter  that  I  mailed  that  morning 
to  a  gentleman  in  St.  Louis,  and  who  is,  or,  as  perhaps 
I  should  now  say,  was,  engaged  to  be  married  to  my 
daughter.  My  idea  is,  knowing  her  proclivity  to  play 
practical  jokes  on  everybody  she  can  reach,  that  she  has 
tampered  with  that  letter,  and  that,  fearful  of  the  ex- 
posure that  she  knew  would  come,  and  at  about  this  time, 
and  dreading  my  just  anger,  she  has  hidden  herself  some- 
where till  the  storm  she  has  created  has  blown  over." 

"  That  seems  quite  likely,"  said  Malcolm,  reflectively. 
"  The  only  objection  1  see  to  accepting  your  view  is, 
that  if  she  went  off  solely  on  account  of  a  practical  joke 
she  had  played,  she  would  have  said  so  in  the  letter  she 
left  for  her  mother.  It  appears  to  me  that  we  shall  have 
to  look  deeper.  Besides,  why  should  she  have  fainted 
when  Miss  Moultrie  read  the  letter  to  her  out  of  the 
book,  and  told  the  history  of  it  ?  By  the  way,  sir,  can  I 
see  that  book  ?" 


276  A   STKONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

"  Certainly  ;  you  will  have  to  call  to-morrow  morning 
to  get  a  few  data  from  my  daughter,  and  then  you  can 
examine  the  volume." 

"  I  shall  at  once  make  inquiries  of  all  the  expressmen. 
I  shall  see  the  servant  at  your  mother's,  and  get  a  de- 
scription of  the  horse  and  wagon  that  took  off  the  trunks, 
as  well  as  of  the  man,  and  I  shall  send  to-night  to 
the  railway  stations  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  something 
about  the  baggage  received  to-day,  and  to  what  points 
checked.  These  (  baggage-smashers,'  as  they  are  called, 
are,  according  to  my  experience,  a  very  observing  set  of 
men.  Are  the  trunks,  of  which  I  think  you  said  there 
were  two,  marked  ?" 

"  I  think  so  ;  yes,  I  am  quite  sure  they  are.  Each 
has  her  name  on  it,  '  Mrs.  Julia  Sincote,  New  York,' 
and  is  covered  with  foreign  baggage  labels." 

a  Thanks,"  said  Malcolm,  making  a  note  of  the  infor- 
mation. "  I  think  I  may  safely  promise  you  that  with 
these  data  alone  I  shall  be  able  to  tell  you  to-morrow 
morning  in  what  direction  your  sister  has  gone,  and  per- 
haps the  exact  place."  He  rang  a  bell  that  stood  on  his 
desk,  and  instantly  a  man  in  plain  clothes  entered  the 
room. 

"  Who  are  in  the  reading-room  ?"  asked  the  chief. 

"  Elder,  Scott,  Byers,  and  Tilghman." 

"  Send  Elder  to  me." 

The  man  disappeared,  and  almost  instantly  another 
man,  presumably  Elder,  came  into  the  apartment.  He 
was  of  about  the  middle  height,  rather  thin,  but  at  the 
same  time  well  put  together,  and  holding  himself  as 
straight  as  a  pine-tree.  His  hair  and  whiskers  were  just 
beginning  to  show  the  gray,  but  otherwise  he  exhibited 
no  indication  of  being  over  forty  years  of  age.  His  rep- 


A  DISAPPEAKANCE.  277 

ntation  as  a  detective  was  very  great,  and  lie  had,  be- 
sides, on  several  occasions  exhibited  great  pluck  and  de- 
termination. 

"  I  am  afraid,  Mr.  Moultrie,"  said  Malcolm,  as  he 
motioned  Elder  to  a  seat,  "  that  we  shall  have  to  put  my 
lieutenant  here  in  possession  of  the  main  facts  of  the 
case  ;  but  I  can  promise  you  that  they  shall  go  no  far- 
ther." 

Moultrie  nodded  assent,  and  the  chief  rapidly  ran  over 
the  points  of  the  matter  to  his  subordinate.  "Now," 
he  said,  as  he  finished  the  recital,  "  take  a  cab  and  drive 
at  once  to  the  New  York  Central  Railway  station. 
There,  as  you  know,  you  will  find  three  railways  cen- 
tring. Before  going,  however,  send  Byers  to  the  Des- 
brosses  and  Cortlandt  Street  ferries,  to  inquire  of  the 
baggage  men  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  at  the 
same  time  he  can  look  after  the  Albany  and  Fall  River 
boats.  And  Tilghman  will  do  the  same  work  for  the 
Long  Island  Railroad.  I  think  we  shall  get  what  we 
want  by  these  means,  unless  she  has  taken  some  one  of 
the  ocean  steamers.  In  that  case  we  shall  require  a 
little  more  time.  Stop,  Elder  !"  he  continued,  as  his 
subordinate  was  moving  off  to  execute  his  orders.  "  Tell 
Scott  to  report  in  person  to  Mr.  Moultrie  at  his  residence 
to-morrow  morning,  at  eight  o'clock.  Now  go,  and 
lose  no  time,  please." 

As  nothing  more  could  be  done  before  morning,  Moul- 
trie took  his  leave  of  Mr.  Malcolm,  and  calling  a  cab, 
was  driven  to  his  own  home. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  keep  the  reader  in  ignorance 
of  the  movements  of  Mrs.  Sincote  till  the  end  of  this 
history.  On  the  contrary,  I  think  it  better  that  he  or 
she,  as  the  case  may  be,  should  be  furnished  with  all  the 


278  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

information  in  my  possession  relative  to  her  thoughts 
and  actions  which  has  any  bearing  upon  the  subjects 
with  which  she  is  connected.  There  are  two  reasons  for 
this  course,  which  appear  to  me  to  be  of  imperative 
force.  In  the  first  place,  the  reader,  if  a  woman,  already 
knows  intuitively  just  where  Mrs.  Sincote  has  gone.  If 
a  man,  though  I  should  keep  the  fact  till  the  end  of  the 
book,  he  would  turn  over  the  leaves  till  he  found  out  all 
about  it,  and  would  thus  interfere  very  materially  with 
his  enjoyment. 

In  the  next  place,  I  find  that  I  can  make  a  better  story 
out  of  the  point  by  telling  it  myself  than  by  leaving  it  to 
be  discovered  by  the  detectives,  though  I  shall  make  use 
of  them  in  unravelling  some  of  the  details.  Therefore, 
the  reader  is  requested  to  forget  for  the  present  all  the 
other  characters,  and  to  concentrate  his  or  her  attention 
on  Moultrie's  sister  Julia. 

The  impression  made  upon  her  by  the  story  that  Lai 
had  read  was  profound.  There  had  been  no  shamming 
about  the  matter.  When  she  heard  that,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  machinations  of  the  wicked  aunt,  the  two 
lovers  came  to  a  good  understanding  and  were  married, 
she  felt  her  brain  whirl,  a  soft,  ringing  noise  was  in  her 
ears,  and  then  she  knew  nothing  more  till  she  found  Lai 
and  Theodora  bending  over  her.  The  latter,  through 
her  medical  knowledge,  at  once  perceived  that  nothing 
serious  was  the  matter.  Julia  had  fainted,  and  in  a 
short  time,  by  the  aid  of  a  few  simple  remedies,  con- 
sciousness was  restored.  After  resting  for  an  hour  or  so 
the  carriage  was  brought  round,  and,  accompanied  by 
Theodora,  she  had  been  driven  home.  She  had  been  at 
once  removed  to  her  apartment,  and  had  not  left  it,  so 
far  as  any  one  knew,  till  the  morning  of  the  day  of  her 


A   DISAPPEARANCE.  279 

flight,  which,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  was  that  on  which 
Theodora  had  given  her  lecture. 

Arrived  in  her  own  room,  she  had  endeavored  to  con- 
centrate her  mind  on  the  situation  she  had  created,  and 
to  determine  something  definite  in  regard  to  her  future 
course.  In  the  first  place,  she  very  readily  perceived 
that  if  she  allowed  matters  to  go  on  in  their  own  way, 
without  any  further  interference  from  her,  her  treachery 
would  inevitably  be  discovered  sooner  or  later,  and  that 
the  consequences  to  herself  would  be  such  as  she  could 
not  bear  to  contemplate  without  a  shudder.  It  would 
be  too  late  then  for  her  to  take  refuge  in  the  plea  that  it 
was  all  a  joke.  She  would  receive  the  unmitigated 
scorn  and  contempt  and  anger  of  all  concerned — her 
mother,  her  brother,  niece,  and  sister-in-law — four  per- 
sons of  whom  she  felt  in  awe  at  all  times,  and  of  whom 
she  might  then  feel  in  terror.  She  was  weak,  as  we 
have  seen,  easily  influenced  by  those  with  whom  she  was 
thrown  into  association,  and  utterly  incapable  of  defend- 
ing herself,  even  when,  as,  for  instance,  when  her 
mother  attacked  her,  her  individual  rights  were  inter- 
fered with. 

But,  like  many  other  persons  who  are  silent  or  submis- 
sive from  lack  of  courage  to  face  an  aggressor,  or  one 
whom  they  have  injured,  she  had  her  own  ways  of  resist- 
ance and  of  getting  out  of  any  difficulties  into  which  her 
conduct  might  have  led  her.  Thus,  although  she  ap- 
peared to  yield  to  any  arguments  that  might  be  addressed 
to  her,  or  invectives  to  which  she  might  be  subjected, 
she  often  quietly  pursued  her  own  course  exactly  as  she 
had  predetermined.  She  therefore  in  this  way  exhibited 
an  amount  of  tempered  firmness,  or  pig-headed  obsti- 
nacy, as  the  dowager  called  it,  which  was  the  source 


280  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

of  much  mental  disquietude  to  her  mother,  the  more 
especially  as  she  had  no  means  at  her  command  for  over- 
coming it. 

Again,  when  Julia  had  perpetrated  one  of  her  prac- 
tical jokes  she  was  in  the  habit  of  telling  on  herself,  and 
thus  disarming  the  resentment  of  which  she  had  become 
the  subject.  With  some  people  she,  by  this  method, 
obtained  a  reputation  for  frankness  and  benevolence, 
which  was,  perhaps,  not  altogether  deserved,  for  there 
were  strong  suspicions  in  the  minds  of  others  that  she 
never  did  this  till  she  was  certain  that  exposure  was  in- 
evitable, and  that,  therefore,  there  was  a  deal  of  worldly 
wisdom  in  her  assumed  repentance  and  expressed  willing- 
ness to  take  any  punishment  that  might  be  awarded  her. 
It  was  scarcely  in  the  human  nature  of  the  subjects  of 
her  pranks,  especially  the  men,  to  be  hard  on  a  pretty 
woman  who  was  ready  to  acknowledge  her  faults  and  so 
solicitous  to  obtain  forgiveness.  But  the  dowager  was 
particularly  severe  on  this  trait  of  her  daughter's,  and 
she  did  not  hesitate  to  declare,  both  to  Julia  herself  and 
to  other  members  of  the  family — for  she  never  exposed 
the  skeletons  in  her  closets  to  outsiders — that  for  deep 
and  cold-blooded  duplicity  and  organized  hypocrisy  it 
cut  her  to  the  heart  to  be  obliged,  in  the  interests  of 
truth,  to  admit  that  there  was  not  a  living  person,  man 
or  woman,  who  could  exceed  her  daughter  Julia.  Ma- 
chiavelli,  she  declared,  were  he  on  the  earth  at  this  day, 
would  find  it  to  his  interest  to  take  lessons  in  double- 
dealing  from  her  daughter  Julia.  And  the  ancient  Ro- 
mans, had  she  lived  in  their  day,  would  have  set  her  up 
as  their  two-faced  god,  instead  of  Janus. 

But  all  this  was  certainly  not  merited,  and  was  to  be 
ascribed  to  that  habit  of  fault-finding  and  spirit  of  exag- 


A  DISAPPEARANCE.  281 

geration  into  which  the  dowager  had  fallen.  Julia  was 
not,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  deceitful.  She 
was  sincere  for  the  time  being,  but  she  changed  so  rap- 
idly in  her  feelings  that  she  did  injustice  to  herself,  and 
to  some  extent  laid  herself  open  to  the  charges  that  her 
mother  brought  against  her.  She  was  not  a  liar.  Few 
persons  told  a  less  number  of  deliberate  untruths  than 
Julia,  and  she  never  told  any  malicious  falsehoods  at  all. 
Indeed,  up  to  the  time  of  her  tampering  with  Lai's  let- 
ter, she  would  have  scorned  to  perpetrate  a  dishonorable 
action,  and  the  reader  will  doubtless  call  to  mind  the  fact 
that  she  had  not  read  a  line  of  the  letter  that  Lai  had 
written  to  Tyscovus. 

She  had,  now  that  she  was  shut  off  from  the  rest  of 
her  mother's  household  for  the  greater  part  of  each  day, 
ample  opportunity  to  reflect  upon  the  condition  of  affairs 
that  she  had  brought  about,  and  she  perceived  at  once 
that  quietism  was  out  of  the  question.  She  must  do 
something,  or  all  would  be  lost.  Two  courses  were  open 
to  her  :  to  go  at  once  to  Lalage,  confess  her  fault,  undo  the 
wrong  to  the  extent  of  her  ability,  and  ask  forgiveness  ; 
or,  to  persevere  in  the  attempt  to  alienate  the  affections 
of  Tyscovus  from  her  niece,  and  to  endeavor  to  secure 
them  for  herself. 

For  several  days  these  alternatives  were  constantly 
present  before  her  mind,  and  not  even  the  morning  and 
evening  visits  of  her  mother  and  daughter,  which  lasted 
each  for  half  an  hour,  were  sufficient  to  remove  them 
from  her  contemplation.  This  mental  condition  was  not 
unnoticed  by  the  dowager,  and  many  and  deep  were  her 
cogitations  relative  to  the  depression  and  abstraction  that 
appeared  to  have  taken  possession  of  her  daughter.  She 
knew  very  well  that  any  direct  attempt  to  discover  the 


282  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

cause  would  meet  with  inevitable  defeat,  and  how  to 
proceed  indirectly  and  deviously  she  did  not  know.  She 
had  had  several  interviews  with  Lai  relative  to  Julia's 
manner  and  behavior  before  and  after  the  fainting,  but 
the  girl  had  been  too  unsuspicious  to  acquire  any  infor- 
mation of  importance. 

Meanwhile  Julia  reflected.  According  to  the  data  she 
had  received  from  Lai  and  Geoffrey,  Tyscovus  would 
arrive  in  St.  Louis  on  the  20th,  and  after  staying  there 
two  or  three  days,  would  depart  for  New  York,  at  which 
city  he  would  arrive  on  the  25th.  It  was  now  the  15th, 
and  it  required  about  two  days  for  a  letter  to  reach  St. 
Louis.  His  address  was  the  Planters'  House. 

Every  day  that  she  delayed  the  contemplated  confes- 
sion rendered  the  making  of  it  not  only  more  difficult, 
but  also  less  likely  to  be  accepted  as  an  act  of  contrition. 
Already  the  18th  of  the  month  had  come,  and  she  had 
allowed  her  friends  to  remain  under  the  impression  that 
all  was  right.  In  two  more  days  Tyscovus  would  arrive 
at  St.  Louis,  and  would  then  receive  the  false  letter.  It 
was  not  at  all  improbable  that  he  would  at  once  perceive 
the  deception  practised  upon  him,  for  he  must  be  quite 
familiar  with  the  contents  of  the  little  book  he  had 
given  to  Lai.  It  was  possible,  however,  that,  not  having 
seen  it  for  over  a  year,  he  might  have  forgotten  this 
particular  letter,  and  that  he  would  be  specially  liable 
not  to  recall  it  in  its  new  form,  mailed  from  New  York, 
and  its  date  changed  from  1574  to  1874. 

But  whether  he  recognized  it  or  not,  that  he  would 
immediately  take  decided  action  of  some  kind  she  had 
no  doubt.  What  that  action  would  be  she  could  not 
surmise  ;  but  that  the  Moultries  would  at  once  receive 
some  intimation  from  him  was  quite  certain.  They 


A  DISAPPEARANCE.  283 

were,  however,  very  close  in  regard  to  the  affairs  of  their 
own  particular  family  circle,  and  events  of  importance 
frequently  occurred  to  them  without  the  dowager  or  her- 
self being  taken  into  their  confidence.  It  might  happen, 
therefore,  that  Tyscovus  would  telegraph  demanding 
an  explanation,  or  would  at  once  come  to  New -York  to 
seek  it  in  person  ;  in  either  of  which  events  a  crisis  in 
her  existence  most  unpleasant  to  contemplate  would  be 
reached. 

Then,  again,  she  was  infatuated  with  her  love  for 
Tyscovus,  and  the  more  she  contemplated  the  possibility 
of  gaining  him,  the  less  disposed  was  she  to  retreat  from 
the  scheme  upon  which  she  had  entered.  During  the 
whole  term  of  her  widowhood  up  to  the  time  of  her 
meeting  with  Tyscovus  she  had  never  shown  that  her 
heart  was  susceptible  of  another  attack  of  the  tender  pas- 
sion. She  had  mourned  the  proper  time  and  with  due 
sincerity,  and  on  taking  off  her  weeds  had  shown  no  dis- 
position to  plunge  into  unwonted  gayeties  or  to  contract 
another  matrimonial  alliance.  But  her  acquaintance 
with  Tyscovus,  brief  though  it  had  been,  had  changed 
all  that.  She  saw  in  him  the  one  man  that  she  had  ever 
seen  to  whom  she  could  unreservedly  give  her  whole 
heart,  and  she  had  given  it  without  at  the  time  enter- 
taining the  slightest  hope  of  ever  getting  his  in  return. 
Of  her  right  to  do  this  no  one  could  deprive  her,  or, 
even  had  it  been  known,  question  its  propriety.  So  long 
as  she  merely  loved,  she  did  no  more  than  millions  of 
honest  men  and  women,  with  no  thought  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  their  hopes,  had  done  with  honor  before  her. 

But  now  all  was  changed,  and  the  feeling  that  ani- 
mated her  was  altogether  different  from  the  calm  and 
almost  cold  emotion  that  she  had  experienced  for  two 


284  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

years  and  more  past,  and  that  was  marked  by  so  little 
passional  disturbance  that  she  had  been  able  to  contem- 
plate the  marriage  of  the  man  she  loved  to  another 
woman  with  almost  entire  composure.  She  had  rather 
enjoyed  the  mild  suffering  that  the  little  thorn  in  the 
flesh  produced.  It  was  better  than  no  feeling  whatever, 
for  it  tended  to  keep  him  before  her,  and  there  may 
have  been,  as  there  so  often  is  in  these  cases,  a  lingering, 
scarcely  recognized  glimmering  of  hope,  that,  after  all, 
something  might  happen  to  bring  him  and  herself  to- 
gether. 

Everything  appeared  to  force  her  to  carry  the  matter 
through,  and  to  incur  additional  risk  in  order  to  reap  the 
possible  reward  of  her  unwonted  boldness  and  deceit. 
She  thought  a  little  of  the  fate  of  the  false  aunt  of  three 
hundred  years  ago,  and  of  the  failures  which  had  fol- 
lowed her  machinations  ;  but  by  continued  reflection  she 
brought  herself  to  the  belief  that  the  chances  of  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  calamities  that  had  befallen  that  unhappy 
woman  were  infinitesimal.  Probably  she  reasoned  after 
the  method  of  the  midshipman,  who  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  safest  place  for  him  to  put  his  head  during 
a  battle  was  a  hole  made  by  a  cannon-ball,  as  it  was  not 
at  all  likely  that  another  shot  would  strike  that  place. 

She  therefore  resolved  that  she  would  go  on  and  take 
the  consequences,  whatever  they  might  be.  Having 
arrived  at  this  conclusion,  she  felt  a  sense  of  repose  that 
she  had  not  experienced  before  for  several  days.  Noth- 
ing is  so  wearing  as  doubt.  The  certainty  of  disaster  is 
not  so  powerful  a  destroyer  of  mental  peace  as  is  the  un- 
certainty whether  there  is  going  to  be  disaster  or  not. 

But  there  was  still  work  for  her  to  do,  and  work  that 
required  all  the  skill  she  could  muster.  In  two  days 


A  DISAPPEARANCE.  285 

Tyscovus  would  be  in  St.  Louis.  She  must  communi- 
cate with  him  at  once,  and  open  the  way  to  further  inter- 
course. There  was  barely  time  for  a  letter  to  reach  him 
in  season  to  influence  any  action  he  might  be  disposed  to 
take  on  receiving  the  fraudulent  communication  which 
Lai  had  unwittingly  sent.  What  to  write  required 
thought,  but  at  last  she  settled  this  point,  and  going  to 
her  desk,  indited  the  following  letter  : 

"  No.  22  WEST  — TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  } 
November  18,  1874.      ) 

"  DEAR  MR.  TYSCOVUS  :  1  have  just  heard  of  the  letter 
that  my  niece  Lalage  wrote  to  you  on  the  5th.  There 
are  many  causes  that  have  influenced  her,  and  before 
you  take  definite  action  you  ought  to  know  their  nature. 
Of  course  I  am  her  friend  and  yours,  and  I  would  like 
to  be  instrumental  not  only  in  preventing  further  trouble, 
but  in  removing  that  which  has  already  been  produced. 
I  have  business  that  will  call  me  to  St.  Louis  in  a  day  or 
two.  If  you  would  like  to  see  me,  telegraph  me  to  that 
effect,  and  then  I  shall  be  glad  to  meet  you  at  the  South- 
ern Hotel,  where  1  shall  stop.  Do  nothing  rash.  The 
letter  was  cruel,  but  Lalage  is,  I  think,  a  good  girl,  and 
all  may  yet  be  well.  Regard  this  communication  as 
strictly  confidential. 

"  Your  friend,  JULIA  SINCOTE." 

She  read  this  letter  over  several  times,  but  found  noth- 
ing to  alter.  In  fact,  she  was  disposed  to  regard  it  as  a 
model  of  discretion  and  astuteness.  She  appeared  in  it 
as  the  friend  of  both  parties,  with  a  leaning  toward  him, 
and  as  tendering  just  that  amount  of  sympathy  that 
would  be  apt  to  whet  his  appetite  for  more.  To  mail  it 


286  A  STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

without  risk  of  exposure  was  the  next  thing  to  do.  It 
would  be  dangerous  to  trust  it  to  any  of  the  household 
servants,  so  she  called  a  district  telegraph  messenger,  and 
then,  creeping  down-stairs,  received  him  at  the  door  be- 
fore he  had  time  to  ring,  and  giving  him  her  letter  to 
post,  returned  quickly  to  her  own  apartment. 

During  the  next  two  days  she  waited  anxiously  for  the 
telegram  that  she  had  requested  might  be  sent  her.  She 
had  told  Richard  that  she  expected  one  from  a  friend  in 
Boston,  but  was  on  the  watch  herself  ;  for  one  of  her 
windows  commanded  a  view  of  the  street  between  her 
residence  and  the  telegraph  office,  and  it  was  therefore 
possible,  when  she  saw  a  blue-coated  boy  coming  toward 
the  house,  to  steal  down  to  the  door  and  receive  the 
message  without  any  one  being  the  wiser. 

At  last,  at  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
20th,  she  saw  the  anxiously-expected  boy  hurrying  up 
the  street  in  the  direction  of  the  house.  Her  mother 
had  gone  out  to  a  lunch  party,  and  all  the  servants  were 
in  other  parts  of  the  building.  She  was  safe,  therefore, 
in  going  to  the  door  and  taking  the  telegram  from  the 
boy's  hands.  Now,  indeed,  a  crisis  had  come.  She  ran 
up-stairs  to  her  room,  and  breathless  with  the  exertion 
and  the  excitement,  sank  into  a  chair,  grasping  the  tele- 
gram tightly  in  her  hand,  half  afraid  to  open  it  lest  she 
should  receive  a  death-blow  to  her  newly-awakened 
hopes.  At  last  her  trembling  fingers  were  nerved  for 
their  work,  and  while  her  heart  beat  like  a  sledge-ham- 
mer, she  ran  her  eyes  over  the  lines.  In  an  instant  an 
expression  of  intense  joy  passed  over  her  face,  for  she 
read  : 

"  I  am  overwhelmed.     I  wish  to  see  you. 

"J.  T." 


A   DISAPPEARANCE.  287 

Her  resolution  to  go  to  St.  Louis  was  taken  at  once. 
She  packed  her  trunks  with  such  things  as  she  thought 
would  be  absolutely  necessary,  and  then  again  availing 
herself  of  the  messenger  service,  had  them  sent  to  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  station  at  Desbrosses  Street,  in- 
tending to  take  the  five-o'clock  train  for  St.  Louis.  She 
then  wrote  the  note  to  her  mother,  of  the  contents  of 
which  the  reader  is  informed,  and  announcing  to  Rich- 
ard that  she  was  going  to  her  brother's,  and  would  not  be 
home  till  after  dinner,  left  the  house.  Within  an  hour 
afterward  she  was  on  her  way  to  St.  Louis. 

The  detective  whom  Mr.  Malcolm  had  detailed  to  re- 
port to  Moultrie  on  the  morning  following  Julia's  flight 
was  prompt  in  his  attendance.  From  him  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  the  trunks  had  been  checked  to  St.  Louis, 
and  that  a  lady  answering  to  Julia's  description  had  pur- 
chased a  ticket  for  that  city.  The  expressman  had  been 
found,  and  from  him  the  statement  was  received  that  he 
had  taken  the  trunks  to  the  Desbrosses  Street  ferry,  and 
had  had  them  checked  to  St.  Louis.  All  doubt,  therefore, 
in  regard  to  the  direction  she  had  taken  was  removed. 

Of  course  the  idea  at  once  occurred  to  Moultrie  that 
she  had  gone  there  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  Tyscovus. 
Her  motives,  however,  were  not  so  easy  to  determine. 
He  could  not,  indeed,  consider  the  subject  with  that 
coolness  that  he  usually  gave  to  matters  brought  before 
his  mind,  for  he  had  no  data  to  bring  to  its  solution  be- 
yond the  mere  fact  of  her  flight.  Still,  he  could  not 
conceive  that  she  would  have  taken  a  step  of  such  im- 
portance, and,  so  far  as  he  could  perceive,  one  likely  to 
lead  to  disgraceful  consequences,  without  the  approval 
and  concurrence  of  Tyscovus.  And  yet  he  could  not 
conceive  why  such  a  co-operation  as  this  theory  required 


288  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

should  have  been  effected.  Julia  had  never,  either  by 
word  or  deed,  exhibited  any  inclination  toward  her 
niece's  fiance  not  warranted  by  the  fact  of  her  relation- 
ship, and  certainly  no  attachment  could  have  existed  on 
the  part  of  Tyscovus  ;  for  there  had  been  no  opportu- 
nity for  the  formation  and  growth  of  such  a  feeling. 
Altogether  the  affair  was  wrapped  in  mystery. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

MR.    SCOTT. 

SCOTT,  the  detective  sent  by  Malcolm  to  report  to 
Moultrie,  was  the  man  generally  selected  for  "  inside 
work."  In  many  respects  he  was  a  very  superior  per- 
son. He  had  received  a  "  college  education,"  had 
studied  medicine  for  a  while,  and  then  law,  all  for  the 
purpose,  as  he  declared,  of  fitting  himself  to  be  a  first- 
class  detective  ;  and  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  he 
had  succeeded  to  such  a  degree  that  no  one  in  this  coun- 
try could  equal  him.  And  Malcolm,  who  was  an  Eng- 
lishman, and  had  been  high  in  office  in  Scotland  Yard, 
in  London,  before  coming  to  this  country,  had  fre- 
quently asserted  that,  familiar  as  he  was  with  English 
and  Continental  detectives,  he  had  never  known  one, 
either  personally  or  by  reputation,  that  possessed  the 
ability,  the  tact,  and  the  astuteness  of  Scott. 

When  Mr.  Scott  made  his  appearance  at  the  Moultrie 
residence,  the  master  of  the  house  received  him  in  the 
library.  The  information  relative  to  the  baggage  was 
first  given,  and  the  conclusion  was  adopted  by  both  that 
Mrs.  Sincote  had  undoubtedly  gone  to  St.  Louis.  At 
Scott's  request  Moultrie  then  went  over  minutely  all  the 
circumstances  that  seemed  to  connect  her  with  Tyscovus, 
anjj  the  detective  admitted  that  there  did  not  appear  to 
be  any  grounds  for  supposing  that  an  attachment  existed 
between  them. 
13 


290  A  STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

"  Of  course,  sir,"  said  lie,  "  we  can't  speak  so  posi- 
tively in  regard  to  the  lady  as  we  can  of  the  gentleman. 
As  I  understand  the  matter,  he  might  have  paid  atten- 
tions to  her  from  the  very  beginning,  had  he  been  so  dis- 
posed ;  and  since  then  he  has  neither  seen  her  nor  had 
any  correspondence  with  her.  Now,  it  stands  to  reason 
that  there  is  no  love  on  his  side.  And  then,  too,  we 
must  recollect  that  if  there  were,  all  he  would  have  to 
do  would  be  to  say  so.  Men,  especially  such  a  one  as 
he  is  from  your  account  of  him,  would  act  above  board, 
even  when  they  were  wrong,  and  certainly  they  would 
not  enter  upon  a  gratuitously  systematic  course  of  fraud 
when  plain  dealing  would  serve  them  as  well,  if  -not 
better." 

"  Then  you  think  there  is  an  attachment  on  my  sister's 
part  ?" 

"  Oh,  I  don't  say  that  !  I  only  say  that  there  is  more 
reason  to  suspect  such  an  attachment  on  her  side  than  on 
that  of  the  gentleman.  Naturally,  if  such  a  state  of 
affairs  existed,  she  would  be  compelled  to  keep  it  a 
secret ;  and  if  she  at  any  time  should  take  a  notion  to 
attempt  to  bring  it  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion,  she 
would  be  obliged  to  use  underhand  means.  Women  in 
such  a  supposititious  situation  are  forced  by  the  laws  of 
society  to  work  by  strategy.  They  can't  speak  out 
without  incurring  disgrace.  Now,  sir,"  he  continued, 
rising  from  his  chair  and  pacing  the  floor  in  his  interest 
in  the  task  before  him,  "  put  yourself  in  the  place  of 
your  sister,  who,  we'll  suppose  for  the  moment,  is  in 
love  with  Mr.  Tyscovus,  having  formed  the  attachment 
from  the  first  moment  of  their  acquaintance.  She 
knows  that  he  is  going  to  marry  her  niece,  with  whom 
he  is  madly  in  love.  Now,  sir,"  he  repeated,  "  what  is 


ME.    SCOTT.  291 

the  first  thing  she  would  endeavor  to  do  ?  Kernember 
that,  as  things  stand,  she  has  no  chance." 

"  Obviously,"  answered  Moultrie,  after  a  moment's 
reflection,  "  the  first  thing  to  be  done  by  an  unscrupu- 
lous woman  would  be  to  break  up  the  existing  arrange- 
ments. But  I  do  not  think  my  sister  is  unscrupulous." 

"  Oh,  sir,"  exclaimed  the  detective,  with  perhaps 
more  feeling  than  the  occasion  required,  "  no  one  can 
answer  for  what  a  woman  in  love  will  do  !  Whether 
they  live  in  palaces  or  in  hovels,  it  is  safe  to  act  upon  the 
presumption  that  many  women  when  in  love  will  do 
almost  anything  the  occasion  requires  them  to  do  in 
order  to  obtain  love  in  return.  And  you  can  form  no 
positive  opinion  from  their  ordinary  behavior.  I  could 
tell  you  some  stories  of  demure,  well-behaved  women, 
that,  unless  you  were  as  well  acquainted  with  human 
nature  as  I  am  sure  you  are,  would  make  your  hair  stand 
on  end." 

"  Yes,  I  know  all  that,"  said  Moultrie  ;  "  but  when 
such  things  come  home  to  one,  through  a  member  of 
one's  own  family,  it  is  difficult  to  accept  them.  How- 
ever, I  will  try  to  disabuse  my  mind  of  all  my  precon- 
ceptions of  my  sister's  character,  and  will  admit,  for  the 
sake  of  getting  a  starting-point,  that  I  may  not  have 
thoroughly  comprehended  her.  Now,  we  have  got  so 
far  as  to  concede  that,  under  the  supposititious  circum- 
stances you  have  mentioned,  the  first  thing  she  would  do 
would  be  to  attempt  to  destroy  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween Mr.  Tyscovus  and  her  niece." 

"  Yes,  sir,  that's  so.  And,  next,  may  I  ask  how  she 
would  be  likely  to  do  this  ?" 

(:  There  is  but  one  way,  and  that  would  be  to  cause  a 
misunderstanding  between  the  two." 


292  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  True,  sir.  Now,"  said  the  detective,  very  slowly, 
while  he  leaned  against  the  mantelpiece  and  looked  up  at 
the  ceiling,  as  though  busily  engaged  in  unravelling  the 
complicated  Byzantine  pattern  of  the  decoration — "  now, 
if  there  were  such  a  misunderstanding,  I  should  say  that 
we  had  the  whole  matter  settled,  with  the  exception  of 
finding  out  the  means  employed,  and  that  would  be  a 
comparatively  easy  matter." 

"  There  is  a  misunderstanding,"  said  Moultrie,  going 
on  to  give  the  detective  an  account  of  the  letter  Lai  had 
written  and  of  the  telegram  sent  by  Tyscovus  in  answer. 
"  And  twice  when  the  letter  has  been  under  discussion 
my  sister  has  become  greatly  agitated  ;  the  second  time 
to  such  an  extent  that  she  fainted." 

"  Then,  sir,  depend  upon  it,  the  misunderstanding  has 
been  caused  by  your  sister,  and  she  has  gone  to  St.  Louis 
to  take  advantage  of  the  trouble  she  has  produced.  I 
would  not  speak  so  positively,"  he  added,  seeing  the 
pained  expression  on  Moultrie's  face,  "  but  for  the  reason 
that  I  feel  entirely  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  my 
opinion.  Now,  will  you  allow  me  the  privilege  of  a  few 
minutes'  conversation  with  Miss  Moultrie  ?" 

"  Certainly  !"  said  Moultrie.  Then  to  the  servant 
who  answered  the  bell :  "  Tell  Miss  Lalage  to  be  kind 
enough  to  come  here.  This  is  my  daughter,  Mr.  Scott," 
he  continued,  as  Lai  entered  the  room  and  took  a  seat 
near  her  father.  ' i  You  can  ask  her  any  questions  you 
please.  Don't  be  afraid,  my  dear,"  he  added,  address- 
ing her,  and  taking  her  hand  in  his.  "  We  are,  I  think, 
getting  at  the  bottom  of  an  affair  that  must  be  unrav- 
elled, no  matter  how  much  pain  it  may  cause  us  all." 

"  Did  anything  happen  the  morning  your  letter  was 
sent  to  Mr.  Tyscovus  that  was  worthy  of  attention  ?" 


MR.    SCOTT.  293 

said  Scott,  addressing  her.     "  Any  incident  of  any  kind 
that  was  out  of  the  usual  order  ?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  Lai,  promptly.  "  A  letter  that  I 
had  copied  out  of  a  book  and  that  I  left  on  my  table 
when  I  came  down  to  breakfast  was  not  there  when  I 
returned." 

"  You  took  the  letter  that  you  intended  to  send  to 
Mr.  Tyscovus  down-stairs  with  you  ?" 

"  No  ;  I  left  that  on  the  table  also.  1  came  up  to  get 
it,  and  met  Aunt  Julia  in  the  upper  hall." 

4  i  Oh,  you  met  your  aunt  in  the  upper  hall !  Had  she 
been  in  your  room  ?" 

' '  No  ;  she  had  been  to  look  at  a  portrait  of  my  father 
in  my  mother's  room." 

"  But  she  might  have  been  in  your  room." 

"  It  is  possible.     But  she  said  nothing  about  it." 

"  Will  you  b.e  kind  enough  to  let  me  see  the  letter  of 
which  you  made  a  copy,  and  which  copy  was  lost  ?" 
'    "  I  will  get  it." 

"While  Lai  was  out  of  the  room  Moultrie  and  the  de- 
tective exchanged  glances.  But  the  expressions  of  the 
two  men  were  very  different ;  for  while  that  on  Moul- 
trie's  face  was  grave,  almost  sad,  that  on  Scott's  was  one 
of  exultation  and  triumph. 

In  a  moment  or  two  Lai  returned  with  her  vellum- 
bound  book.  "  This  is  the  letter,"' she  said,  indicating 
the  place  to  the  detective. 

Scott  took  the  book,  and  as  he  read  an  expression  of 
the  most  complete  astonishment  spread  over  his  counte- 
nance. Then  he  read  it  over  again,  studying  every 
word.  "  Have  you  read  this  letter,  Mr.  Moultrie  ?"  he 
said  at  last.  "  No  ?"  as  Moultrie  shook  his  head. 
"  Then  read  it.  I  think  when  you  have  done  so  you 


294  A    STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

will  agree  with  me  that  if  Miss  Moultrie  had  desired  to 
end  the  relation  existing  between  her  and  Mr.  Tyscovus 
she  could  not  have  written  a  letter  that  would  more 
effectually  have  accomplished  the  object." 

Moultrie  read  the  letter  with  every  evidence  of  amaze- 
ment. "  I  think  it  is  entirely  clear,"  he  said,  "  that  she 
has  taken  the  copy  that  was  on  the  table,  and  has  sent  it 
to  St.  Louis — probably  in  the  envelope  that  contained 
the  right  letter,  substituting  the  false  for  the  true.  Do 
you  recollect,  my  dear,"  addressing  Lai,  "  whether  or 
not  you  examined  the  contents  of  the  envelope  before 
you  closed  it  ?  But,  of  course,"  he  continued,  "  you  did 
not ;  otherwise  you  would  have  detected  the  fraud." 

"  No,"  said  Lai,  "  1  am  quite  sure  that  I  merely  put 
your  note  to — to — "  hesitatingly,  "  Mr.  Tyscovus  in  the 
envelope,  and  that  then  I  closed  it  and  gave  it  to  you  to 
mail.  But,  oh,  father,  do  you  think  there  is  not  some 
other  way  to  explain  it  all  without  thinking  such  horrible 
things  of  Aunt  Julia  ?" 

"  No,  my  dear  child,  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  see  no 
escape  from  the  conclusion  we  have  reached.  But, ' ?  he 
added,  turning  to  Scott,  "  I  see  the  date  of  this  is  1574, 
although  the  day  of  the  month  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
day  on  which  the  letter  was  sent." 

"  Nothing  easier  than  to  change  the  5  into  an  8,  and 
then  she  would  have  the  exact  date.  Certainly  it  is  a 
most  extraordinary  coincidence  !" 

"  I  recollect,"  said  Lai,  "  that  when  I  took  my  letter 
from  the  table  there  was  an  ink-spot  on  it  which  I  did 
not  put  there." 

"  No,  but  which  she  did,"  remarked  Scott,  quietly. 
"  She  dropped  it  from  the  pen  while  changing  the  5  into 
an  8.  There's  only  one  thing  more,  Mr.  Moultrie,  and 


ME.    SCOTT.  295 

then  I  shall  be  prepared  to  advise  you.  Have  you  a 
photograph  of  Mrs.  Sincote  handy  ?' ' 

"  I  don't  know,  but  1  think  there  must  be  one  some- 
where in  the  house.  Lai,  dear — " 

"  Oh,  I  have  one,  father  !     I'll  get  it." 

She  left  the  room,  but  was  back  almost  immediately 
afterward  with  her  photograph-album. 

"  Aunt  Julia's  photograph  is  here,"  she  said  ;  but  as 
she  opened  the  book  a  folded  sheet  of  paper  fell  on  the 
floor.  She  picked  it  up  and  unfolded  it.  "  Oh,  fa- 
ther," she  exclaimed,  bursting  into  tears,  "  it  is  my  let- 
ter to  John  !  He  never  got  it  !  See,  here  it  is  !" 

"  This  removes  the  last  lingering  uncertainty,  Scott," 
said  Moultrie,  merely  running  his  eyes  over  the  letter, 
and  then  handing  it  back  to  Lai.  "  She  is  guilty  be- 
yond a  doubt.  Of  course  the  fairest  thing  to  do  is  the 
best.  Mr.  Tyscovus  must  be  informed  at  once  of  the 
fraud  that  has  been  practised  upon  him.  That  is  your 
advice,  is  it  not  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  1  think  it  is  quite  unnecessary  to  pursue 
the  investigation  further.  The  lady  has  been  completely 
exposed,  and  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  thwarting  her 
schemes.  I  was  about  to  advise  you  to  telegraph  all  the 
particulars  to  the  gentleman — your  telegram  will  arrive 
several  hours  before  she  can  get  there — and  to  start  at 
once  for  St.  Louis,  so  as  to  meet  your  sister.  She  may 
get  into  trouble  of  some  kind  when  she  finds  that  all  her 
plans  have  been  defeated,  and  there  is  no  telling — she 
might  even  attempt  to — " 

"  Yes,  yes,  1  understand.  It  were  perhaps  better  that 
she  should  die,  but  not  by  her  own  hand,"  said  Moultrie, 
bitterly.  "  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,"  he  continued, 
placing  a  check  for  a  large  amount  in  the  detective's 


296  A   STKONG-MIKDED    WOMAN. 

hand.  Yon  have  acted  in  this  matter  with  great  tact 
and  kindness." 

Mr.  Scott  took  his  departure,  greatly  elated  with  the 
success  of  his  efforts  and  with  the  substantial  recompense 
he  had  received.  "  If  all  affairs  were  as  simple  as  that," 
he  said  to  himself,  as  he  entered  his  cab,  "  the  detective 
business  wouldn't  require  much  head  on  a  man.  And  if 
all  the  employers  were  as  liberal  as  this  one,  we'd  get 
rich  sooner  than  we're  likely  to  as  things  now  are." 

"  Now,  my  dear  child,  let  us  go  to  breakfast,"  said 
Moultrie  to  Lai,  "  and  then  we  will  see,  with  your 
mother's  advice,  what  can  be  done  to  untangle  this  sad 
affair." 

"  Not  for  me,  father  dear,"  exclaimed  Lai,  hiding  her 
face  in  his  breast,  and  fairly  breaking  down  from  the 
strained  placidity  she  had  hitherto  maintained.  "  I  do 
not  think  it  can  ever  be  again  as  it  was  before.  No,  no, 
never  again  !" 

"  Don't  say  that,  dear,"  said  Moultrie,  soothingly. 
"  We  don't  know  what  influences  may  have  been  brought 
to  bear  upon  him,  what  misrepresentations  may  have 
been  made  to  him.  We  should  not,  I  think,  be  harsh 
with  him  till  we  have  found  out  exactly  how  he  has  been 
acted  upon,  and  what  are  his  present  feelings.  If  he 
has  apparently  had  reason  for  his  course  we  should  be 
ready  to  make  excuses  for  him." 

"  Oh,  but  that  he  should  doubt  me  from  any  cause  ! 
That  I  cannot  bear  !"  exclaimed  Lai. 

"  It  seems  hard  to  you,  but  then  you  know  what  your 
heart  is,  whereas  he  can  only  judge  of  it  by  the  evi- 
dence he  has.  You  must  try  to  put  yourself  in  his 
place,  and,  moreover,  to  think  how  you  would  act  in  like 
circumstances.  Here  was  a  letter  written  in  your  hand- 


MR.    SCOTT.  297 

writing,  signed  with  your  initial,  dated  with  the  very 
date  that  it  ought  to  have  had,  and  perhaps  re-enforced 
by  letters  from  that — that — false  woman,"  he  added, 
with  bitterness.  "  The  case  against  you  wras  strong — so 
strong,  in  fact,  that  I  really  do  not  see  how  he  could 
have  acted  differently  ;  and  yet  he  has  done  nothing  vio- 
lent. He  has  only  held  back  till  he  could  get  further 
evidence.  No,  no,  my  darling  !  If  he  has  been  honest, 
no  one  more  than  he  will  rejoice  when  the  fraud  is  ex- 
posed. If  he  has  been  dishonest,  then  we  will  drop  him 
out  of  our  hearts  forever,  and  even  be  glad  that  we  have 
gotten  rid  of  a  weak  and  untrue  man.  Come  !  We 
must  not  keep  your  mother  waiting  breakfast  for  us. 
You  have  behaved  as  I  could  have  washed  my  daughter 
to  behave — calmly,  modestly,  and  with  dignity.  Now 
leave  all  the  rest  with  me.  When  I  tell  you  he  is  unwor- 
thy of  your  love,  cast  him  out  of  your  heart  forever  ; 
but  till  then  be  tolerant,  remembering  that,  after  all,  he 
is  but  human,  with  all  humanity's  weaknesses,  and  with 
perhaps  fewer  of  them  than  most  of  us." 

He  led  her  into  the  breakfast-room,  where  Theodora 
was  anxiously  expecting  them,  and  to  whom  the  facts,  as 
elicited,  were  fully  communicated.  He  did  not  spare  his 
sister  in  his  recital,  but  he  had  seen  so  much  of  human 
nature,  and  knew  it  so  well,  that  he  could  make  certain 
allowances  even  for  her.  And  it  scarcely  needed  his 
wife's  and  daughter's  intercessions  to  cause  him  to  re- 
solve not  to  treat  her  with  undue  severity. 

Theodora  agreed  with  him  that  the  proper  course  to 
pursue  was  the  one  upon  which  he  had  already  resolved 
— that  is,  o2  informing  Tyscovus  by  telegram  of  all  that 
had  been  discovered,  and  proceeding  to  St.  Louis  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment.  He  at  once,  therefore,  sent  a 


298  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

long  message  to  Tyscovus  embodying  all  the  facts  of  the 
case,  and  stating  that  he  would  be  in  St.  Louis  on  the 
morning  of  the  23d.  At  ten  o'clock  he  was  on  his  way 
to  that  city. 

The  morning  papers  lay  on  the  table  in  the  library,  but 
neither  Theodora  nor  Lai  felt  much  in  the  humor  for 
reading  them.  The  sense  of  Julia's  treachery  bore 
heavily  upon  them.  The  circumstances  that  had  come 
to  light  were  of  such  a  character  as  to  give  them  a  new 
revelation  of  her  personal  traits  and  tendencies,  and  one 
altogether  different  from  the  idea  of  her  that  they  had 
previously  entertained.  That  she  was  weak  they  had 
known,  but  that  she  was  capable  of  developing  such  a 
degree  of  strength  in  a  wicked  cause  was  what  they 
found  it  difficult  to  believe.  Moultrie  had  left  with  his 
wife  the  duty  of  putting  his  mother  in  possession  of  all 
that  was  known,  and  soon  after  breakfast  Theodora 
walked  over  to  the  dowager's  on  her  painful  errand. 

For  some  time  Lai  remained  in  the  library,  meditating 
over  the  remarkable  events  that  had  just  been  brought  to 
light.  Mrs.  Bowdoin  had  sent  word  to  say  that,  as  her 
little  daughter  was  very  ill,  she  begged  to  be  relieved  of 
her  duties  for  that  day,  so  that  Lai  could  indulge  in  her 
reflections  undisturbed  by  thoughts  of  her  studies.  And, 
indeed,  although  she  had  managed  to  preserve  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  an  appearance  of  composure,  her 
mind  was  so  greatly  disturbed  by  the  knowled^i  that  had 
come  to  her  during  the  last  twelve  hours,  that  attention 
to  lessons  and  studies  would  have  been  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

But  although  she  had  succeeded  in  preserving  the  ap- 
pearance of  calmness,  she  was  suffering  very  acutely,  and 
probably,  but  for  the  existence  of  a  contradictory  emo- 


ME.    SCOTT.  299 

tion  that  kept  the  other  in  check,  would  have  broken 
down  completely.  She  found  the  strength  that  comes 
from  contending  feelings  each  struggling  for  the  mastery, 
and  in  the  few  words  she  had  addressed  to  her  father  on 
the  subject  she  had  given  expression  to  the  state  of  her 
mind  in  this  respect.  The  grief  that  she  experienced  at 
the  thought  that  the  happiness  she  had  looked  forward 
to  as  the  wife  of  Tyscovus  was,  in  all  probability,  to  be 
relegated  to  the  limbo  of  unfulfilled  expectations,  was 
more  than  kept  in  subjection  by  the  indignation  that 
filled  her  mind  when  she  thought  that,  without  waiting 
for  a  word  of  explanation  from  her,  he  had  assumed  that 
she  had  done  something  disloyal  to  the  bond  that  united 
them.  This  was  conduct  on  his  part  so  entirely  at  vari- 
ance with  all  the  conceptions  she  had  formed  of  his  char- 
acter, that  she  began  to  feel  the  first  glimmerings  of  a 
consciousness  that  she  had  made  a  mistake,  than  which 
nothing  is  more  fatal  to  a  continuation  of  love.  She  had 
formed  these  ideas  altogether  from  the  conviction  that 
Tyscovus  had  had  nothing  as  a  basis  for  his  action  but 
the  letter  she  had  last  sent  him.  In  this  she  had  been  as 
tender  as  was  her  wont  ;  she  had  told  him  of  the  joy  she 
was  experiencing  at  his  success  in  the  election,  and  at 
the  knowledge  that  she  was  to  see  him  again  in  a  few 
days  after  the  letter  would  come  into  his  hands  ;  and 
then  had  gone  on  to  recall  to  his  mind  some  of  the  inci- 
dents tff  flfeir  relations  with  each  other,  and  notably  that 
of  parting  on  the  butte,  when,  as  she  said,  in  her  fervid 
language,  she  had  felt  as  though  her  heart  was  being 
torn  out  of  her  bosom.  That  he  should,  on  the  recep- 
tion of  such  a  letter,  have  given  up  his  expected  visit  to 
New  York,  and  looked  for  mutual  explanations  with  her 
father,  were  to  her  acts  that  could  only  be  explained  on 


300  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

the  hypothesis  that  his  love  was  diminishing,  even  if  it 
had  not  already  entirely  disappeared.  She  had  always, 
even  when  in  the  degradation  and  darkness  inseparable 
from  a  life  with  the  Boslers,  possessed  a  degree  of  pride 
and  of  ability  to  take  care  of  herself  that  had  sustained 
her  in  many  trying  situations.  She  had  then  possessed 
an  impetuosity  and  violence  of  temper  that  had  often 
caused  her  to  break  out  into  paroxysms  of  anger  when 
indignities  had  been  put  upon  her.  A  change  in  her 
circumstances  and  associations  had,  however,  been  pro- 
ductive of  a  great  alteration  in  her  emotional  nature,  as 
well  as  in  other  points  of  her  mental  organization.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  she  felt  less,  but  the  disturbance  was 
extended  over  a  longer  period.  It  was  with  her  very 
much  as  it  is  with  a  rainfall.  The  precipitation  of  an 
inch  in  half  an  hour  causes  a  flood,  while  if  the  same 
quantity  be  distributed  over  a  day  it  has  all  the  appear- 
ance of  a  moderate  fall  ;  and  yet  in  both  instances  there 
is  a  like  amount  of  water.  She  had  acquired  the  power 
of  self-control,  without  losing  anything  of  her  ability  to 
feel. 

But  now,  when  she  was  told  that  her  aunt  had  made  a 
systematic  attempt  to  alienate  her  lover's  affections,  and 
when  she  came  to  read  over,  as  she  did  with  great  care, 
weighing  each  word,  the  letter  of  which  a  copy  had  been 
sent  to  Tyscovus  as  emanating  from  her,  and  as  express- 
ing her  sentiments,  she  began  to  find  excuse*  for  him. 
The  advice,  too,  which  her  father  had  given  her  came  to 
her  aid.  She  knew  that  he  would  advise  nothing  that 
was  not  intrinsically  right,  and  that  in  telling  her  that 
under  the  apparent  circumstances  Tyscovus  had  done  no 
more  than  was  on  the  face  of  it  reasonable,  he  was  actu- 
ated not  only  by  a  regard  for  her  happiness,  but  also  for 


MB.    SCOTT.  301 

that  family  pride  that  would  not  permit  of  a  quiet  sub- 
mission to  insult  or  neglect.  She  began  the  wholesome 
exercise  of  putting  herself  in  his  place,  and  endeavoring 
to  determine  how  she  would  act  under  circumstances 
similar  to  those  to  which  she  was  subjected.  She  read 
the  letter  over  again,  substituting  in  her  mind  herself  for 
him,  and  vice  versa,  and  when  she  had  completed  this 
operation  the  conclusion  was  inevitable  that,  had  such  a 
letter  come  from  him  to  her,  with  all  the  marks  of  au- 
thenticity which  hers  to  him  possessed,  she  would  have 
closed  her  heart  against  him,  and  never  have  opened  it 
again  for  his  entrance  till  he  had  satisfied  her  that  she 
was  the  victim  of  a  fraud. 

And  then  she  began  to  pity  him.  If  he  had  really 
loved  her,  as  she  knew  he  had,  how  distressed  beyond 
measure  he  must  have  been  when  a  cold,  cruel  letter, 
such  as  was  the  one  he  received,  came  to  him  from  the 
woman  he  was  about  to  make  his  wife  !  What  a  sudden 
reversal  of  his  emotions  there  must  have  been  when,  ex- 
pecting a  letter  full  of  love  and  tenderness,  he  had  opened 
this  false  one,  and  read  words  there  that  could  only  have 
been  penned  by  a  heartless  woman  ! 

What  was  her  duty  ?  Had  she  discharged  it  in  full 
when  she  had  resolved  in  her  own  mind  to  forgive  him 
for  the  doubts  of  her  fidelity  that  he  had  entertained  ? 
True,  her  father  had  telegraphed  him  a  frank  and  cir- 
cumstantial account  of  the  affair,  but  she  had  sent  no 
message.  Now  that  she  had  determined  that  Tyscovus 
was  not  to  blame,  she  could  scarcely  be  patient  under  the 
delay  that  must  necessarily  ensue  before  her  father  could 
arrive  in  St.  Louis  and  communicate  to  her  the  result  of 
his  interview.  She  felt  as  though  she  ought  to  send  him 
word  that,  now  that  the  imposition  that  had  been  prac- 


302  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

tised  upon  him  and  her  had  been  discovered,  she  hoped 
that  nothing  existed  to  prevent  his  visit  to  New  York  ; 
but  she  reflected  that  this  would  scarcely  be  seemly. 
Two  years  ago  she  would  not  have  hesitated,  but  now 
she  perceived  that  the  first  advance  should  come  from 
him  to  her.  He  knew  already  that  she  had  done  noth- 
ing wrong. 

But  perhaps  nothing  could  have  better  shown  the 
change  that  had  come  over  Lai  through  her  altered  cir- 
cumstances and  associations  than  the  feelings  she  enter- 
tained toward  Julia.  In  the  old  days,  under  like  treat- 
ment, she  would  have  become  greatly  excited  and  angry, 
and  in  consequence  would  have  indulged  in  violent  lan- 
guage and  actions  ;  but  now  she  could  regard  the  matter 
with  a  degree  of  equanimity  that  was  astonishing  even  to 
herself.  In  fact,  she  could  even  find  it  in  her  heart  to 
make  excuses  for  her  aunt's  conduct,  which  showed, 
perhaps,  that  she  was  more  actuated  by  feelings  of  char- 
ity and  compassion  than  by  those  of  retributive  justice. 
In  attempting  to  analyze  the  causes  for  this  change  in 
her  mental  characteristics,  she  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  offender  was 
her  father's  sister,  and  that  her  love  for  him  stood  as  a 
barrier  against  the  exhibition  of  intemperate  resentment. 
There  had  never  been  any  great  degree  of  intimacy  be- 
tween her  and  her  aunt.  The  two  were  so  dissimilar 
that  there  was  very  little  in  either  one  to  attract  the 
other  ;  and,  in  fact,  Julia  had  her  own  reasons  for  having 
no  great  degree  of  love  for  her  niece.  She  had  never, 
therefore,  held  out  any  inducements  toward  an  intimacy, 
and  Lai,  on  her  part,  had  never  made  any  advances  in 
that  direction. 

As  Lai  sat  in  the  library  revolving  all  these  things  in 


MR.    SCOTT.  303 

her  mind,  the  thought  occurred  to  her  that  her  aunt,  if 
she  had  really  loved  Tyscovus  from  the  first  moment 
that  she  had  seen  him,  must  have  suffered  untold  agony 
during  all  the  time  that  she  had  been  forced  to  conceal 
her  passion.  This  served  in  a  measure  as  one  of  the  in- 
fluences that  caused  her  to  moderate  the  just  anger  that 
she  felt  toward  her  treacherous  relative.  And  then, 
when  she  came  to  reflect  upon  the  pangs  of  remorse  that 
the  woman  had  experienced  while  the  story  of  her  proto- 
type was  being  read  from  the  little  vellum-bound  book, 
and  that  had  culminated  in  the  paroxysm  of  fainting  ; 
when  she  imagined  the  fears  of  detection  with  which 
Julia's  heart  must  have  been  filled  during  the  last  three 
weeks  ;  and  when  she  thought  of  the  shame  that  was  yet 
in  store  for  her,  she  was  forced  to  acknowledge  that  the 
retribution  would  be  ample,  and  that  the  cup  of  sorrow 
would  be  filled  to  repletion. 

She  was  in  the  midst  of  her  thoughts  when  Theodora 
returned  from  her  visit  to  the  dowager.  The  old  lady 
had  received  the  intelligence  of  her  daughter's  deception 
with  her  ordinary  self-complacency,  asserting  that  she 
had  always  known  that  Julia  was  utterly  devoid  of  prin- 
ciple, and  that  she  had  suspected  that  some  such  course 
of  systematic  treachery  was  being  carried  out.  Then  she 
talked  of  "  vipers  in  bosoms,"  and  of  "  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing,"  and  of  "  whited  sepulchres,"  and  of  many 
other  similar  unpleasant  things,  ending  with  the  declara- 
tion that  never,  under  any  circumstances,  should  such 
"  a  snake  in  the  grass"  as  her  daughter  Julia  had  shown 
herself  to  be  again  set  foot  in  her  house. 

"  1  don't  care  so  much  for  myself,"  she  exclaimed,  as 
Theodora  was  taking  her  leave,  "for  I  have  always 
known  Julia  to  be  just  what  she  has  shown  herself  to  be  ; 


304  A    STRONG-MIKDED   WOMAJV. 

but  there  is  her  poor  child,  whom  I  have  brought  up  to 
believe  in  her  mother's  truth  and  nobility  of  character. 
What  am  1  to  say  to  her  now  ?  How  can  I  break  to  her 
the  story  of  her  mother's  shame  ?" 

"  Oh,"  said  Theodora,  "  I  trust  you  will  not  find  it 
necessary  to  say  a  word  to  Florence  on  the  subject !  She 
is  too  young  to  understand  the  matter,  and  surely  no 
good  could  come  from  exposing  a  mother's  weakness  to 
her  child  !" 

"  There  shall  be  no  more  temporizing  with  sin  and 
crime  if  I  can  help  it,"  said  the  dowager,  with  as  much 
empliasis  as  she  could  put  into  the  words.  "  There  lias 
been  enough  of  that." 

"  But  think  of  poor  Florence's  anguish  in  after  years, 
when  she  gets  old  enough  to  form  some  conception  of 
what  has  been  done.  If  not  for  Julia's  sake,  mother, 
surely  you  will  hesitate  before  you  make  the  child  un- 
happy. Promise  me,  I  beg,  that  at  any  rate  you  will  do 
nothing  till  Geoffrey  returns.  We  have  not  yet  heard 
Julia's  side  ;  and  it  is  certainly  unjust,  even  if  circum- 
stances are  so  strongly  against  her,  to  condemn  her  to  her 
own  child  before  she  has  had  an  opportunity  to  say  a 
word  in  her  defence." 

"  What  can  she  say  ?"  exclaimed  the  dowager.  "  In 
the  name  of  Heaven,  what  can  she  say  that  will  not  make 
matters  worse  if  she  speaks  the  truth  ?  Has  she  not 
gone  to  St.  Louis  to  meet  him  ?  Lured  on,  probably, 
by  his  encouragement.  Still,  I  am  willing  to  wait  till 
Geoffrey  returns." 

"  And  with  that  concession  I  was  obliged  to  be  satis- 
fied," added  Theodora,  as  she  finished  relating  the  inci- 
dent to  Lai,  "  and  then  I  left  her." 

"  She  is  very  unjust,"  said  Lai,  "  especially  to  hint 


MR.    SCOTT.  305 

that  John  induced  her  to  go  to  St.  Louis.  I  am  sure  he 
did  nothing  of  the  kind." 

"  So  am  I,  dear.  She  is  a  very  singular  woman.  If 
any  one  were  to  abuse  Julia  she  would  at  once  fly  to  her 
defence.  At  any  rate,  she  will  refrain  from  any  action 
till  your  father  returns." 

Theodora,  observing  the  newspapers  on  the  table  still 
unfolded,  began  to  experience  a  pardonable  curiosity  to 
learn  what  they  said  of  her  lecture.  There  were  four  : 
the  Avenger,  the  Controller,  the  Morning  Sentinel,  and 
one  with  more  of  a  bias  toward  literature  than  the  others 
—the  Tattler. 

She  opened  them  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here 
named. 

The  Avenger  had  a  column  devoted  to  the  event,  of 
which  three  fourths  related  to  the  history  of  the  medical 
college  and  an  attempt  at  a  life  of  Theodora,  another  at 
that  of  her  husband,  a  description  of  her  personal  appear- 
ance, and  a  list  of  the  prominent  persons  present.  The 
remaining  fourth  consisted  of  the  first  and  last  two  or 
three  paragraphs  of  the  lecture,  and  of  a  criticism  of 
about  five  lines,  to  the  effect  that  the  address  "  was  a 
very  creditable  production,  and  was  listened  to  with 
great  attention  by  the  large  audience  in  attendance." 

The  Controller  also  gave  a  column  to  its  consideration, 
but  quoted  much  more  copiously  from  the  lecture  than 
had  the  Avenger ;  and  then,  after  praising  the  manner 
and  style  of  the  lecturer,  and  extolling  her  for  the  evi- 
dent study  she  had  given  to  the  subject,  went  on  to  say, 
in  a  short  editorial  : 

"  The  success  of  Mrs.  Moultrie  marks,  we  think,  an 
era  in  the  cause  of  woman's  rights  worth  all  the  noisy 
tirades  against  the  male  part  of  creation  in  which  certain 


306  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

so-called  advanced  reformers  are  wont  to  indulge.  The 
true  way  for  woman  to  advance  is  to  show,  by  her  own 
efforts,  that  she  is  capable  of  advancing.  No  one  doubts 
that  in  many  respects  the  brain  of  woman  may  be  supe- 
rior to  that  of  man.  Let  her  show  that  it  is.  Hitherto 
she  has  not  done  this  save  in  a  fesv  exceptional  instances, 
which  prove  nothing.  Mrs.  Moultrie  is  another  in- 
stance. Whether  it  is  going  to  be  exceptional  or  not,  of 
course  we  cannot  say.  There  is  no  reason,  so  far  as  we 
can  determine,  why  it  should  be  so.  The  arts  and  the 
sciences  are  open  to  her  sex,  and  under  her  competent 
guidance,  if  women  are  really  fit  for  such  a  study  as  that 
of  physiology,  other  physiologists  ought  to  be  developed. 
At  all  events,  we  are  free  to  say  that  we  do  not  believe 
that  there  is  a  man  in  the  country  who  could  have  deliv- 
ered a  more  finished,  graceful,  and  learned  address  upon 
a  confessedly  difficult  subject  than  did  Mrs.  Moultrie  at 
the  "  Martha  Washington  Medical  College  for  Women" 
yesterday  afternoon,  and  we  may  add  that  her  generous 
recognition  of  the  fact  that,  in  entering  upon  the  career 
of  a  professor  in  a  medical  college,  she  had  not  cut  her- 
self loose  from  her  home  and  its  head,  gave  her  at  once  a 
place  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  from  which  it  would  be 
difficult  to  displace  her." 

The  Morning  Sentinel  was  more  elaborate  in  its  report 
than  either  of  the  two  other  papers,  giving  nearly  the 
whole  lecture  as  it  was  delivered,  and  detailing  several  in- 
cidents of  the  occasion,  notably  the  one  of  her  salutation  of 
her  husband,  which  it  spoke  of  as  an  act  that  took  the  au- 
dience by  storm.  It  also  called  attention  to  the  high  intel- 
lectual character  of  the  majority  of  the  persons  present, 
and  dwelt  at  great  length  on  the  finished  manner  of 
speaking  which  Mrs.  Moultrie  exhibited.  It  also  had  an 


MR.    SCOTT.  307 

editorial  of  nearly  a  column  in  length,  headed  "  Woman 
in  Science,"  in  which  it  spoke  of  the  field  that  was  now 
open  to  the  sex  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  civilized 
world,  and  especially  the  science  of  medicine,  for 
which  there  was  reason  for  thinking  that  woman  pos- 
sessed peculiar  qualifications  in  many  of  its  depart- 
ments. 

"  These  views,"  it  went  on  to  say,  "  received  ample 
confirmation,  if  any  were  needed,  from  an  event  fully 
reported  in  another  part  of  to-day's  Sentinel  that  oc- 
curred in  this  city  yesterday.  Of  course  there  have  been 
woman-lecturers  before  Mrs.  Moultrie  appeared  upon  the 
rostrum,  but  we  doubt  whether  any  before  her,  in  this 
country  at  least — and  it  is  here  that  probably  the  best 
examples  are  to  be  found— ever  made  so  favorable  an 
impression  upon  a  specially  intelligent  audience  as  was 
made  by  her.  She  showed  by  every  word  that  she 
uttered  that  she  had  studied  her  subject  with  the  view  of 
mastering  it,  and  that  she  had  succeeded  in  her  object. 
And  she  also  showed  that  she  knew  how  to  express  her 
thoughts  in  language  that  not  only  conveyed  the  ideas 
that  she  had  formed,  but  that  did  so  in  good  English 
phrase  which  every  one  could  understand. 

u  It  has  been  charged  against  woman  that  she  is  not 
thorough,  and  that  she  is  not  competent  for  abstract 
thought.  However  true  these  assertions  may  be  of  the 
sex  as  a  whole,  they  are  certainly  not  fairly  applicable  to 
Mrs.  Moultrie.  When  such  men  as  Bishop  Crocker, 
Mr.  Carp,  Professors  Mattock,  Wolverton,  and  Parsons, 
and  Presidents  Larmand  and  Black,  who  have  devoted 
their  whole  lives  to  learning  in  some  form  or  other,  and 
who  are  necessarily  trained  students,  applaud  a  discourse, 
it  may  fairly  be  assumed  that  they  do  so  intelligently, 


308  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

and  that  they  are  not  actuated  by  an  unhealthy  senti- 
mentality. 

"  And,  in  conclusion,  we  beg  to  remark  further,  that 
when  a  woman  of  Mrs.  Moultrie's  social  position,  wealth, 
and  youth  accepts  the  chair  of  a  professor  in  a  medical 
college,  knowing,  as  she  must,  that  the  act  is  one  that 
the  prejudices  of  her  class  will  not  be  likely  to  approve, 
she  gives  an  example  of  courage  and  of  devotion  to  prin- 
ciple that  we  trust  will  not  continue  to  be  an  isolated 
one.  She  has  nothing  to  gain  but  the  approval  of  her 
own  sense  of  what  is  right  and  proper,  and  the  gratitude 
of  those  who  are  striving  for  the  recognition  of  a  great 
principle." 

"  How  nice  it  is  to  be  spoken  of  in  that  way,"  said 
Lai.  "  But  it's  no  more  than  you  deserve,  I  am  sure." 

"  Yes,  it's  very  pleasant." 

1 '  And  even  those  papers  that  were  so  unkind  to  father 
have  praised  your  lecture." 

"  They  did  not  mean  to  be  unkind  to  him.  They  op- 
posed his  politics,  and  they  did  not  know  exactly  where 
their  opposition  should  cease,  or,  knowing,  did  not  care. 
But  we  have  yet  the  Tattler.  Praise  from  that  source  is 
scarcely  to  be  expected. " 

"  And  yet  the  editor  is  a  woman." 

"  Yes,  I  believe  so  ;  but  I  had  the  misfortune  to 
offend  her  once  unintentionally,  or,  rather,  ignorantly, 
and  she  has  never  forgiven  me." 

"  How,  mamma?" 

"  I  was  at  a  philharmonic  concert,  and  right  in  front 
of  me  was,  as  I  thought,  a  man,  with  a  man's  overcoat, 
short  hair,  and  a  man's  hat.  The  individual  was  so 
seated  that  the  hat  prevented  me  seeing  the  stage,  and  I 
especially,  of  course,  wished  to  observe  the  movements 


MR.    SCOTT.  309 

of  the  leader.  I  therefore  bent  forward  and  said,  in  my 
blandest  tones,  '  "Will  you  be  kind  enough,  sir,  to  take 
off  your  hat  ? '  To  my  astonishment,  when  the  person 
turned  round  and  faced  me,  I  saw  that  I  had  made  a  mis- 
take, and  that  I  had  spoken  to  a  woman.  The  next  day 
the  Tattler  contained  a  long  article  abusing  my  paper  on 
*  Evolution,'  which  she  had  raked  up  from  the  Journal 
of  Physiological  Science,  published  over  a  year  ago,  and 
in  which  not  only  the  paper  was  ridiculed,  but  1  was 
personally  attacked.  I  do  not,  therefore,  look  for  any 
mercy  from  Miss  Gildersleeve." 

"No,"  said  Lai,  with  indignation,  "  and  you  have 
not  got  it,  cither.  Shall  I  read  you  what  she  says  ?  She 
does  not  even  mention  your  name,  but  every  one  will 
know  that  she  means  you." 

"  Yes,  read  it,  dear  ;  I  am  prepared  for  annihilation." 
"  £  While  we  are  in  favor  of  every  legitimate  means 
of  opening  the  many  avenues  to  wealth  or  distinction  to 
women,  we  are  opposed,  in  the  interest  of  the  sex,  to  all 
movements  which  tend  to  throw  ridicule  on  the  cause, 
no  matter  how  seriously  they  may  be  undertaken.  There 
has  been  heard  much  within  the  last  few  days  of  a 
"  physiologist"  who,  at  one  great  bound,  has  sprung 
from  obscurity  to  eminence.  We  are  not  aware  that  this 
"  physiologist"  has  pursued  the  study  of  the  science  in 
the  laboratory  of  a  Virchow,  a  Claude  Bernard,  a  Schiff, 
or  a  Longet.  On  the  contrary,  inquiry  shows  that  she 
has  done  nothing  of  the  kind.  She  has  probably  taken 
in  its  grand  principles  by  reading  some  school-book 
on  the  subject  in  the  wilds  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  has  thus  obtained,  by  a  short  and  easy  process, 
knowledge  which  the  masters  had  taken  years  to  ac- 
quire. 


310  A  STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

"  '  Yesterday  afternoon  this  phenomenon  culminated 
in  a  lecture.  It  is  trite  to  say  that  a  lecture  may  be  so 
bad  as  to  be  delicious  ;  but  unfortunately  there  are  many 
such  lectures.  Seldom,  however,  do  we  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  listening  to  one  so  delightfully,  so  inimitably 
bad  as  the  one  it  was  our  misfortune  to  hear  yesterday. 
One  is  bewildered  to  know  where  to  begin  in  handling 
it,  and  therefore  we  must  be  excused  from  quoting  any 
part  of  the  learned  "  physiologist's"  lecture.  It  touched 
mainly  upon  the  metamorphosis  of  tissues,  and  the 
"  physiologist"  kindly  informed  us  that  the  world  at 
large  had  very  incorrect  ideas  on  the  subject.  We  are 
glad  of  this,  for,  of  course,  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  be  with 
the  majority,  and  to  know  that  it  is  not  a  disgrace  to  be 
ignorant  of  this  abstruse  subject.  Of  course  the  u  phys- 
iologist" knows  all  about  it,  and  hence  it  would  never  do 
for  us  to  dispute  about  a  subject  well  known  to  "  phys- 
iologists." '  " 

Lai  stopped.  She  was  too  indignant  to  go  farther,  for 
the  rest  was  merely  a  mass  of  vituperation  and  attempts 
at  wit,  which,  while  they  made  Theodora  laugh,  excited 
quite  different  emotions  in  the  woman  less  accustomed 
to  the  attrition  of  the  world. 

"Now,"  said  Theodora,  laughing  heartily,  "I  sup- 
pose I  ought  to  consider  myself  well  punished  for  mis- 
taking the  editor  for  a  man." 

"  But  how  unfair,"  exclaimed  Lai,  "  to  abuse  you  in 
this  manner,  and,  even  as  I  see  she  does,  make  malicious 
allusions  to  your  father  and  husband.  She  uses  your 
lecture  for  the  purpose  of  showing  her  spite.  But  what 
does  she  mean  by  putting  physiologist  in  quotation  marks 
every  time  she  uses  the  word  ?" 

"  Oh,  that  is  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  the  idea 


MR.    SCOTT.  311 

that  I  am  a  sham .;  that,  while  1  call  myself  a  physiolo- 
gist, I  in  reality  am  not  one." 

"  Well,  here  goes  for  the  Tattler"  said  Lai,  picking 
the  newspaper  up  from  the  table  with  the  tongs  and  put- 
ting it  into  the  fire,  where  it  was  quickly  consumed  ; 
"  and  if  I  had  Miss  Gildersleeve  here  I  would  box  her 
ears." 

"  You'd  get  the  worst  of  it,  if  you  did,"  said  Theo- 
dora, with  a  laugh,  in  which  Lai  joined.  "  She  looks  as 
if  she  could  eat  you  up." 

"  Oh,  you  forget  how  I  can  fight !  It  is  a  long  time 
since  1  have  had  a  good  fight,  and  1  feel  as  if  1  would 
like  one  now." 

"  You  savage  monster  !"  exclaimed  Theodora,  putting 
her  arms  around  the  girl's  waist.  "  Do  you  know  how 
much  I  love  you?  Yes,"  she  continued,  "  I  do  love 
you,  Lai,  very  dearly,  both  for  what  you  are  and  because 
you  are  my  Geoffrey's  child." 


CHAPTEE  XYI. 

REFLECTIONS. 

To  say  that  Burton  was  astonished  at  the  rebuff  he  had 
received  from  Rachel  would  convey  a  very  inadequate 
idea  of  the  impression  that  had  been  produced  upon  him. 
He  was  overwhelmed  with  confusion,  and  for  a  moment 
stood,  as  it  were,  dazed  under  its  influence.  He  had  once 
been  struck  on  the  head  by  a  sabre,  in  the  hands  of  a 
strong  cavalryman  who  was  not  very  expert  in  the  use 
of  the  weapon,  that  had  only  cut  through  his  felt  hat,  and 
had  had  its  impetus  materially  checked  by  a  sponge 
moistened  with  water  that  rested  on  the  top  of  his  skull, 
put  there  as  a  preventive  of  sunstroke.  The  effects  in 
both  cases,  so  far  as  his  sensations  went,  were  very 
similar.  For  an  instant  he  had  seen  thousands  of  bright 
flashes  of  light,  then  a  tingling  sensation  had  swept 
through  his  body,  and  his  mind,  at  first  confused,  was  in 
a  moment  apparently  annihilated.  Immediately  after- 
ward it  seemed  as  though  a  mighty  flood  was  seething 
and  hissing  and  roaring  in  his  ears,  and  then  he  had 
felt  a  dull,  heavy  pain.  But  there  was  a  difference,  for 
the  blow  of  the  sabre  had  caused  a  pain  in  his  head, 
whereas  the  one  Rachel  had  given  him  had  produced  a 
pang  in  his  heart,'  so  sharp  that  he  had  instinctively 
placed  his  hand  over  that  organ,  as  though  a  strong 
pressure  would  give  relief.  All  these  sensations  were 
over  in  a  few  seconds,  and  then  life  began  to  have  a  full 


EEFLECTIONS.  313 

realization  of  what  had  happened,  and  to  understand  that 
his  dream  of  happiness  had  suddenly  come  to  an  end. 
He  had  been  tricked,  deceived,  jilted  in  the  most  cruel 
and  heartless  manner.  Of  that  he  had  no  doubt.  She  had 
led  him  on,  had  played  a  part  for  the  purpose  of  making 
him  ridiculous,  and  she  had  succeeded  to  an  extent  not 
flattering  to  his  sense  of  self-esteem.  Of  that  he  had  no 
doubt.  It  was  as  clear  to  him  now  as  the  noonday  sun 
in  a  cloudless  sky. 

He  thought  of  the  East  River,  and  of  his  speech  about 
throwing  himself  into  it,  but  only  to  make  him  see  still 
more  plainly  what  a  fool  he  had  made  of  himself.  As 
to  his  threat,  doubtless  she  would  be  rejoiced  to  read  in 
the  morning  papers  that  he  had  carried  it  out.  He  had, 
however,  not  the  slightest  intention  of  doing  anything  of 
the  kind.  On  the  contrary,  he  buttoned  his  overcoat, 
rammed  his  hands  down  into  its  capacious  pockets,  and 
then  turning  away,  walked  rapidly  down  Fifth  Avenue 
till  he  came  to  the  Menhaden  Club  House,  where  he  had 
two  comfortable  rooms  on  the  fourth  floor.  Arriving  at 
the  building,  he  passed  across  the  wide  hall,  not  stopping 
to  chat  with  several  friends  who  greeted  him,  and  enter- 
ing the  elevator,  was  soon  lifted  up  to  his  apartments. 
Here  he  took  off  his  evening  coat  and  donned  a  more 
comfortable  one  of  velvet  ;  his  patent-leather  shoes  were 
replaced  by  slippers,  which  a  young  lady  in  Lutetia, 
whom  he  had  defended  in  a  lawsuit,  and  who  had  had 
no  money  with  which  to  pay  his  fee,  had  worked  for 
him,  and  turning  up  his  lamp,  he  lit  a  cigar,  and  throw- 
ing himself  into  an  arm-chair  almost  big  enough  for 
Daniel  Lambert,  settled  himself  down  to  the  task  of 
considering  the  situation  and  of  extracting  as  much  com- 
fort from  it  as  the  circumstances  would  allow. 
14 


314  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

He  found  both  parts  of  the  problem  rather  difficult  of 
solution.  In  the  first  place,  he  could  not  get  a  clear  idea 
of  the  position  of  affairs,  mainly  because  he  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  motives  by  which  Rachel  had  been 
actuated.  That  she  had  encouraged  him  to  make  ad- 
vances was  very  certain  ;  that  she  had  been  pleased  with 
them  was  not  a  matter  of  the  least  doubt  in  his  mind. 
He  was  well  up  in  the  natural  history  of  woman.  He  had 
studied  the  sex  with  much  thoroughness,  from  many 
standpoints,  and  had  flattered  himself  that  he  under- 
stood all  the  manifold  phases  of  the  female  character  as 
well  as  any  other  person  who  made  any  pretence  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  subject.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  say- 
ing that  although  the  mind  of  woman  was  the  most 
mysterious  and  altogether  most  wonderful  creation  of 
Providence,  yet  that  he  had  given  seventeen  of  the  best 
years  of  his  life  to  its  investigation,  and  that  at  last  he 
had  mastered  it  in  all  its  ramifications  and  devious  turn- 
ings and  complicated  twistings  so  thoroughly  that  there 
were  no  possible  types  that  he  could  not  understand  after 
an  hour's  study.  He  had  often  been  smitten  before,  and 
he  had  often  had  women  in  love  with  him  ;  but  things 
had  never  yet  gone  so  far  with  any  other  as  they  had 
now  between  him  and  Rachel  Meadows.  He  had  flirted 
and  been  flirted  with,  and  this  to  such  an  extent  in  so 
many  places  throughout  the  country,  that  he  had  gotten 
a  reputation  for  inconstancy,  to  which,  in  reality,  he  was 
not  entitled.  It  was  his  manner  to  pay  great  attention 
to  nice  women  with  whom  he  might  become  acquainted, 
and  to  express  his  admiration  for  them  to  his  friends  in 
those  exaggerated  terms  which  he  so  generally  employed 
in  his  conversation.  But  he  meant  nothing  serious,  and 
no  one  could  say  that  he  had  ever  wilfully  deceived  any 


REFLECTIONS.  315 

woman  by  trying  to  make  her  believe  he  was  in  love 
with  her,  when  in  reality  he  had  entertained  no  feeling 
of  greater  depth  than  admiration.  He  may  have  flirted 
in  a  mild  way,  but  he  was  not  a  jilt.  He  had  begun  by 
admiring  Rachel,  and  he  had  ended  by  becoming  desper- 
ately in  love  with  her.  It  was  a  sincere,  deep,  and  all- 
absorbing  passion  that  he  felt,  and  it  was  the  first  time 
that  his  heart  had  been  seriously  touched.  He  was  a 
man  of  uncommonly  sharp  perceptive  faculties  ;  he  had 
observed  her  closely,  and  he  would  have  sworn  by  all  the 
gods  and  goddesses  in  all  the  systems  of  mythology  that 
the  world  had  ever  known  that  she  had  reciprocated  his 
love.  He  knew  the  difference  between  tears  that  came 
from  an  overcharged  heart  and  those  that  flow  at  the  will 
of  the  individual  who  uses  them  for  the  effect  they  may 
possibly  produce  on  others  ;  and  he  knew  that  those  that 
fell  from  Rachel's  eyes  upon  his  hand  that  covered  hers 
were  the  genuine  article,  and  not  the  crocodile  variety. 
Tears,  he  knew,  were  tears  all  the  world  over,  and  if  he 
had  judged  merely  by  their  appearance  to  the  eye,  he 
might  have  been  deceived  ;  but  these  were  hot  tears, 
which  showed  that  they  were  produced  by  a  real  emotion, 
and  he  had  seen  the  eyes  whence  they  had  come,  and 
there  was  no  mistaking  their  look.  If  she  were  not  in 
earnest  as  she  stood  by  the  piano,  tearful  and  speechless, 
and  with  it  all,  kind,  then  he  would  pack  up  and  go  back 
to  Lutetia,  and  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  as  a  country 
lawyer,  amid  the  unsophisticated  maidens  of  his  native 
State  ! 

This  point  settled  to  his  satisfaction,  the  Hon.  Tom 
threw  the  stump  of  his  burnt-out  cigar  into  one  of  a  pair 
of  Japanese  vases  that  stood  on  either  side  of  the  fire- 
place, and  forthwith  proceeded  to  help  himself  to  an- 


316  A   STBONG -MINDED   WOMAN. 

other  from  a  curious-looking  receptacle  that  stood  on  the 
table,  and  which  appeared  to  be  an  attempt  at  combin- 
ing in  miniature  the  chief  architectural  characteristics  of 
an  Indian  pagoda  and  those  of  the  Capitol  at  Washing- 
ton. Then  he  picked  up  the  evening  paper,  and  tried 
to  master  a  portion  of  its  contents  ;  but  after  making  the 
attempt  for  about  two  minutes  and  a  half,  and  getting 
no  further  than  an  examination  of  the  column  containing 
the  stock  quotations,  he  threw  it  down  in  disgust. 

"  I'll  swear  she  loved  me  for  five  minutes  at  least  !" 
he  thought  to  himself.  "  For  that  time  she  loved  me 
hard — just  as  hard  as  she  could,  and  that's  a  good  deal. 
Now,  what  in  the  devil  changed  her  ?  Or  if  she  hasn't 
changed,  what  in  the  name  of  Beelzebub  and  all  his 
hierarchy  made  her  play  me  such  a  damned  scurvy 
trick  as  that  ?  There's  something  wrong  about  a  girl 
that  can  act  in  that  way — yes,  something  wrong  in  the 
upper  story.  She's  on  a  par  with  the  '  most  noble 
Festus,'  "  he  added,  after  a  pause,  during  which  he  ap- 
peared to  be  cogitating  over  the  simile  to  be  employed, 
and,  as  usual,  when  he  quoted  Scripture,  getting  it  some- 
what mixed.  u  By  George  !"  he  continued,  "  I  believe 
I've  got  it  at  last.  It's  all  done  to  give  me  a  lesson  in 
(  woman's  rights  ; '  to  teach  me  that  I  can't  always  have 
things  my  own  way ;  to  bring  me  on  my  knees  as  a 
beggar  for  her  hand.  Well,  all  1  have  to  say  is,  that 
she  has  tried  that  game  on  the  wrong  man,  and  that  she's 
a  different  sort  of  a  woman  from  what  I  took  her  to  be — 
not  worth  the  powder  and  shot  to  blow  her  to —  Well, 
I  won't  abuse  her.  She's  given  me  a  pretty  hard  blow, 
I  reckon,  but  it  won't  kill  me.  I  did  love  her,  and 
would  have  loved  her  more  if  she  had  shown  herself  to 
be  a  true  woman.  Evidently  she  prefers  her  old  associ- 


REFLECTIONS.  317 

ations  with  the  woman' s-rights  people  to  becoming  the 
wife  of  a  man  with  a  will  of  his  own.  Perhaps  I  was  a 
little  too  fast  with  her  ;  but  Heaven  knows  I'd  have  given 
her  all  the  time  she  wanted  if  she  had  asked  for  it !  But, 
without  a  word,  to  shut  the  door  in  my  face  in  that 
way,  and  with  a  devilish  coolness  that  showed  me  she  was 
acting  a  part — if  I  knuckle  to  such  a  woman,  then  I  shall 
deserve  to  be  called  a  milksop.  I'll  never  go  back  to 
her.  I'll  never  ask  for  a  word  of  explanation,  and  if  we 
ever  meet  again — which  God  forbid  ! — I'll  be  as  much  of 
a  stranger  to  her  as  though  she  was  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
or  any  other  of  Solomon's  wives." 

He  rose  from  his  chair  after  this  emphatic  declaration 
of  his  intentions,  and  walked  up  and  down  the  floor  for 
a  few  minutes.  "  Yes,"  he  continued,  and  he  repeated 
the  assertion  several  times,  "  she's  not  the  right  sort  of 
a  woman."  Then  he  stood  in  front  of  the  mirror  over 
the  mantelpiece,  and  surveyed  himself  apparently  with 
much  satisfaction.  "  A  true,  tender,  sympathizing 
woman,"  he  said,  still  in  front  of  the  mirror — "  and 
that's  the  only  kind  I  want  about  me,  good  or  bad  look- 
ing is  not  a  matter  of  much  consequence,  after  all — would 
have  been  kinder  about  it  if  she  had  found  out  that  she 
had  mistaken  her  own  feelings.  And  if  she  had  wanted 
more  time,  how  easy  it  would  have  been  for  her  to  say, 
'  Mr.  Burton,  I  am  not  sure  of  my  own  heart.  Give 
me  a  little  more  time.  Let  me  see  more  of  you.  So 
far,  I  like  you  very  much,  but  I  want  to  love  you  with 
all  my  heart,  and  then  some  of  these  days  when  you  are 
bidding  me  good-night,  I'll  say,  "  Good-night,  Tom," 
and  then  you'll  know  that  my  heart  is  all  yours  ! '  If  she 
had  talked  to  me  like  that,  I  would  have  been  ready  to 
kiss  the  ground  she  walks  on.  But  to  call  to  me  out  of 


318  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

the  darkness  of  her  carriage,  in  a  light,  ringing  voice,  as 
though  there  was  a  smile  on  her  face,  '  Good-night, 
Mr.  Burton  ! '  was  savagely  cruel.  A  Cheyenne  squaw 
couldn't  have  behaved  worse.  It  was  unmannerly  after 
what  had  passed  between  us  ;  after  she  had  listened  ap- 
provingly to  my  song,  allowing  me  to  call  her  '  my  love  ' 
and  c  my  dear,'  and  inviting  her  into  my  arms,  and  drop- 
ping tears  like  rain  on  my  hand,  and  choking  with  feel- 
ing. Yes,  it  was  just  about  the  most  atrocious  piece  of 
cruelty  that  has  ever  come  to  my  knowledge,  and  I've 
seen  some  strong  things  from  women  in  that  way  in  my 
time.  It  was  dishonorable,  too.  She  got  me  into  a 
trap,  and  then  sprung  it  on  me  with  a  degree  of  in- 
humanity of  which  I  could  not  have  believed  her  capa- 
ble ;  but  worse  than  that,  with  such  treachery  as  does  not 
go  well  with  her  pretty  face,  and  that  excites  my  con- 
tempt. "Well,  she  did  not  kiss  me — she  would  have 
done  so,  though,  if  we  had  been  alone — but  if  she  had  I 
should  feel  as  if  a  female  Judas — I  should  say  a  Delilah 
— had  pressed  her  lips  to  mine  !  I'm  done  with  her — 
done  with  her  forever  !  Hello  !"  he  continued,  as,  on 
turning  toward  the  table,  he  saw  a  letter  lying  there 
which  had  not  been  opened  ;  "  what's  this — '  The  Hon. 
Thomas  Burton.'  I  wish  people  would  not  call  me 
Thomas.  My  name's  Tom.  It  never  was  Thomas,  and 
it  never  shall  be."  He  opened  the  letter,  and  then 
having  read  it  through,  laid  it  down,  while  a  prolonged 
whistle  escaped  from  his  lips. 

"Well,  that  beats  the  Jews!"  he  exclaimed,  after 
reading  it  again.  "  Why,  I  hardly  know  the  little 
wretch,  and  yet  she  invites  me  to  dinner  for  to-morrow, 
and  sends  an  invitation,  or  an  '  invite,'  as  I  suppose  she 
would  call  it  !"  Again  he  read  it,  and  this  time  aloud. 


REFLECTIONS.  319 

"  'Miss  Billy  Bremen  presents  her  best  compliments 
to  the  Hon.  Thomas  Burton,  late  Member  of  Con- 
gress from  the  State  of  Texas,  arid  requests  the  honor 
of  his  company  to  dinner  on  Friday,  November  21st,  at 
six  o'clock  P.M.,  to  meet  several  distinguished  friends. 

"  '  And  I  do  hope  you  will  be  able  to  come,  for  I  want 
to  thank  you  for  your  kindness  in  that  difficult  case  you 
managed  so  well  for  me,  and  to  perfect  an  acquaintance 
begun  under  such  happy  auspices. 

"  '  I  am  afraid  I  have  been  very  naughty  in  taking  up 
certain  views  about  the  woman  question,  and  associating 
with  a  number  of  heartless  women.  I  want  you  to  set 
me  right.  1  look  upon  you  as  the  greatest  man  in  the 
United  States— yes,  the  very  greatest,  and  your  opinion 
will  be  final,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned. 

u  *  Yours  sincerely, 

"  l  BILLY  BREMEN.' 

"  Well,  of  all  the  extraordinary  epistles  I  ever  received 
in  my  life  that  excels  !"  exclaimed  Burton.  "  The  vul- 
gar little  huzzy,  to  dare  to  invite  me  to  one  of  her  feeds  ! 
That  comes  from  being  a  lawyer,  and  having  to  associate 
with  such  people.  They  think  because  you  have  taken 
their  retainers,  that  you've  become  their  servant.  "Well, 
I'll  teach  her  a  lesson.  The  ugly,  little,  dumpy,  flat- 
faced  butcher  !  Oh,  Rachel,  my  beauty,  if  you  had 
only  stuck  to  me,  how  happy  we  should  have  been  !" 

He  went  to  his  desk,  and  wrote  a  note  as  follows  : 

"  MENHADEN  CLUB,  Thursday  Evening. 
"  Mr.  Burton  regrets  that  he  will  not  be  able  to  accept 
Miss  Bremen's  polite  invitation  for  Friday,  November 

21st." 


320  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  There  !  there  are  at  least  two  lies  in  that ;  but  I  must 
not  forget  that  I  am  a  gentleman,  and  know  how  to  lie 
like  one." 

Then  he  rang  the  bell,  and  folding  and  closing  his 
note,  took  up  his  pen  to  direct  it.  "1  suppose,"  he 
said,  "  her  name  is  William  about  as  much  as  mine  is 
Thomas.  I'd  direct  it  to  Miss  William  Bremen,  only 
that  my  old  father  once  gave  me  a  lesson  to  the  effect 
that  a  person  was  always  to  be  addressed  in  like  manner 
as  he  signed  his  name.  t  If  a  fellow  sign  himself  Mitha- 
gaunnah  Napoleon  Bonaparte  Smith,'  said  the  old  gen- 
tleman, '  it  would  be  bad  manners  to  address  him  as 
M.  N.  B.  Smith;  remember  that,  Tom.'  And  I  have 
remembered  it  to  this  day.  So  c  Miss  Billy  Bremen  '  it 
must  be. 

"  By  George  !"  he  continued,  after  waiting  several 
minutes  for  the  bell  to  be  answered,  "  the  service  here 
is  getting  to  be  so  devilish  bad  that  I  shall  have  to  com- 
plain to  the  house  committee."  lie  got  up  and  gave  the 
little  knob  a  strong  and  long-continued  push.  Then  he 
seemed  to  be  in  deep  thought  for  a  moment,  and  finally 
tore  his  note  in  two,  and  sitting  down  again  at  his  desk, 
began  another.  Before  he  had  half  done  there  was  a 
knock  at  his  door.  "  Come  in  I"  he  called.  "  Well," 
he  continued,  as  a  servant  in  the  livery  of  the  club  made 
his  appearance,  "I'm  much  obliged  to  you  for  deciding 
to  come  after  you  had  reflected  on  the  subject  long 
enough  to  get  all  the  pros  and  cons  under  consideration. 
I  rang  that  bell  twice." 

"  It  only  rang  once,  sir,"  said  the  man,  respectfully. 

"  Then  one  of  three  things  probably  exists  :  I  am  labor- 
ing under  a  delusion,  you  are  deaf  or  inattentive,  or  the 
electric  apparatus  is  out  of  order.  Now,  please  to  wait 


REFLECTIONS.  321 

till  I  finish  this  note."     It  was  almost  as  short  as  the 
other,  but  very  different : 

"  MENHADEN  CLUB,  Thursday  Evening. 
"  Mr.     Burton    accepts    with    pleasure     Miss    Billy 
Bremen's  kind  invitation  to  dinner  on  Friday  the  21st 
inst.,  and  will  be  delighted  to  be  of  service  to  her  in  any 
way  in  his  power." 

"  In  the  matter  of  lies,"  he  thought,  as  he  closed  and 
directed  this  epistle,  "  it  beats  the  other.  Give  this  to 
a  messenger-boy,  and  tell  him  to  take  it  at  once,"  he 
continued  to  the  man.  "  It's  only  eleven  o'clock." 

The  man  took  the  note,  bowed,  and  disappeared. 

"  Yes,  I'll  go  and  see  the  fun.  I  want  all  the  diversion 
I  can  get  now,  for  this  blow  has  struck  me  hard.  Oh, 
Rachel,  that  one  so  fair  should  be  so  false  !  How  I  did 
love  her  !  Yes,  I  love  her  still !  But  I'd  rather  take 
a  rattlesnake  into  my  bosom  than  take  her  ;  for  the  snake 
gives  warning  when  it  is  about  to  strike,  while  she  gives 
none." 

The  next  morning  Burton  when  he  awoke  had  an  in- 
distinct idea  that  something  disastrous  had  happened  to 
him,  and  in  a  moment  the  full  conception  of  his  misery 
flashed  upon  him.  He  went  down  to  breakfast  feeling 
more  cast  down  in  spirits  than  he  could  remember  ever 
having  felt  before  in  his  life.  On  the  previous  evening 
he  had  made  extraordinary  efforts  to  combat  the  effects 
of  Rachel's  treatment,  and  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
temporary  supremacy  over  the  depressing  emotions  that 
were  beginning  to  make  themselves  felt.  But  now  the 
reaction  had  come,  and  he  was  forced  to  admit  that  his 
triumph  of  the  night  before  was  short-lived.  He  really 


322  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

loved  }ier  yet,  in  spite  of  the  lack  of  consideration  she 
had  shown  for  his  feelings  ;  but  he  was  proud  to  a  fault, 
and  he  would  rather  live  in  single  wretchedness  all  his 
days  than  take  back  into  his  heart  a  woman  who  had 
shown  so  little  regard  for  the  sanctity  of  his  affection. 

He  thought,  as  he  swallowed  the  bits  of  bread  and 
bacon  and  cup  of  coffee,  for  which  he  had  no  appetite, 
that  he  would  order  his  horse  and  take  a  ride  through  the 
Park,  and  as  far  up  the  river  as  Hastings,  where  he  had 
a  friend,  Jack  Wildlove,  and  his  pretty  wife,  living  in 
baronial  splendor.  He  was  about  to  give  the  necessary 
directions,  when  his  mail  was  brought  to  him.  There 
were  several  business  letters,  and  among  them  one  from 
a  lecture  association  in  Boston,  inviting  him  to  address 
it  on  the  subject  of  "  Texas  before  the  Annexation," 
and  offering  him  two  hundred  dollars  and  his  expenses 
as  a  quid  pro  quo.  Then  there  was  another  from  the 
Secretary  of  State  at  Washington  to  the  effect  that  it  had 
become  necessary  to  send  a  special  envoy  to  Mexico  to 
look  after  a  matter  of  great  importance,  the  nature  of 
which  would  be  told  him  in  person,  offering  him  the  ap- 
pointment, and  requesting  his  presence  at  the  capital  at 
his  earliest  possible  convenience. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  the  world  has  apparently  awak- 
ened to  the  knowledge  that  I  am  something  more  than 
an  ex-Member  of  Congress  and  a  political  stump- 
speaker.  Just  in  time,  too,  to  divert  my  mind  from  my 
troubles.  Oh,  Rachel,  if  you  had  only  been  true  to  me, 
you'd  have  been  proud  of  your  Tom  !  I  don't  suppose 
her  sweet  face  will  ever  fade  out  of  iny  memory  ;  such 
a  frank,  honest  face,  and  then  to  be  so  false." 

"  Hello  !  here's  another,"  he  continued,  as  he  picked 
up  a  letter  that  had  been  hidden  under  one  of  the  others. 


REFLECTIONS.  323 

He  cut  it  open  with  a-  table-knife.  It  took  but  a  moment 
to  read  it,  and  then,  looking  very  grave,  he  folded  it  up 
again  without  a  word  to  himself,  and  with  scarcely  a 
thought,  and  put  it  into  his  pocket.  This  is  what  he 
read  : 

"  I  was  very  wicked,  and  I  am  very  wretched. 

"  RACHEL." 

Burton  gathered  together  his  other  letters,  and  rose 
from  the  table.  "  I  must  get  out  into  the  open  air  and 
cool  my  head,"  he  said,  as  he  put  on  his  overcoat,  gloves, 
and  hat.  "  She's  a  sweet  girl,  after  all.  1  suppose 
some  sudden  caprice  seized  her,  and  now  she's  sorry. 
Poor  Rachel,  how  you  must  have  suffered  !  There's  a 
pair  of  us,  my  dear.  I  have  never  been  so  miserable  in 
all  my  life  as  during  the  last  twelve  hours." 

By  this  time  he  was  out  on  the  Avenue,  and  walking 
rapidly  up-town.  His  idea  was  to  go  to  the  Park,  seek 
some  quiet  place  under  the  shadow  of  a  rock  or  in  the 
depths  of  the  woods,  and  there  consider  the  situation. 
On  he  went,  with  the  gait  of  a  free-born  citizen  of  the 
great  South-west,  until  he  reached  the  street  in  which 
Rachel  lived.  He  stopped  at  the  corner.  He  could  see 
the  imposing  facade  of  the  "  Joan  of  Arc,"  in  which 
Rachel  and  her  mother  had  their  home.  "  It  is  but  a 
step  to  my  arms,' '  he  muttered  beneath  his  breath,  as  he 
looked  at  the  building.  "  I've  a  great  mind  to  go  there 
at  once,  and  settle  the  whole  business  on  the  spot.  No," 
he  continued,  as  he  resumed  his  walk,  "  I  was  too  quick 
last  night.  Now  I '11  act  after  reflection.  She  fooled  me 
once.  How  do  I  know  that  this  isn't  another  attempt  to 
make  me  ridiculous  ?  t  A  burned  child  dreads  the 
fire.'" 


324  A  STRONG -MINDED   WOMAN. 

He  continued  his  reflections  till  he  reached  a  deep 
ravine  at  the  north  end  of  the  Park,  where  it  was  not  at 
all  likely  that  any  one  would  interrupt  him.  He  found 
a  vacant  bench,  upon  which  he  seated  himself,  and  then 
taking  out  his  cigar-case  and  selecting  a  "  weed  "  with 
great  deliberation,  as  though  the  fate  of  nations  hung  on 
the  decision,  he  lighted  it,  and  drawing  Rachel's  note 
from  his  pocket,  he  read  it  over  again  and  again. 

"  'I  was  very  wicked,'  "  he  said,  quoting  the  note. 
"  Well,  an  honest  confession  is  good  for  the  soul.  I'm 
glad  she  looks  on  the  matter  from  that  standpoint.  She 
wouldn't  think  it  wicked  if  she  had  deliberately  intended 
to  cast  me  off,  and  now  she's  very  wretched.  Remorse 
has  got  hold  of  her — remorse,  that  corrodes  the  very 
vitals,  breaks  the  heart,  prompts  to  suicide,  and  causes 
insanity.  Poor  little  woman  !  I'm  sorry  for  her,  just 
as  sorry  as  I  am  for  myself.  Yes,  and  I  love  her  as 
madly  as  I  did  last  night,  when  I  sang  that  song.  I've 
sung  that  same  song  to  pretty  girls  before,  but  never 
have  I  felt  it  as  I  did  last  night."  He  pressed  the  note 
to  his  lips.  "  Dear  little  woman  !  I'll  make  it  all  up 
soon,  but  I  won't  do  so  just  yet.  She  behaved  very 
badly,  and  remorse,  no  matter  how  deep,  is  not  sufficient 
punishment.  What  a  dainty  little  note  it  is  !"  He  ex- 
amined the  paper  very  closely.  "  That  looks  as  if  it 
might  be  a  tear,"  looking  at  the  note  sideways,  and 
holding  it  up  to  the  light,  so  as  to  see  through  it.  "  By 
George  !  I  believe  it  is.  She  sheds  them  easily.  There's 
only  one  here.  There  were  a  dozen  on  my  hand  last 
night.  If  she  proved  false  after  a  dozen  tears,  what  is 
she  likely  to  prove  after  one  tear  ?  That's  the  way  to 
put  it.  She's  got  to  shed  more  than  one  before  she  gets 
hold  of  me  again.  Poor,  dear  Rachel  !  Cry  on,  my 


KEFLECTIONS.  325 

love  !  I  could  cry  now  myself.  By  the  immortal  shade 
of  Sam  Houston,  I  am  crying  !v  He  took  out  his  spot- 
less cambric  handkerchief  and  wiped  his  eyes.  "  I'll 
make  a  martyr  of  myself,  and  hold  back  a  while  yet.  It 
will  be  the  better  for  both  of  us  in  the  long  run,  and 
when  we  do  make  up,  we'll  be  as  happy  as  Damon  and 
Pythias,  or  Abelard  and  Heloise,  or  Jacob  and  the 
Rachel  of  old.  He  served  seven  years  for  her,  I  be- 
lieve. Seven  years  !  Well,  I  won't  make  it  seven 
years,  or  seven  months,  either,  but  I'll  fight  shy  for  seven 
days,  and  then  I'll  go  back  and  say,  '  Rachel,  I  forgive 
you  !  Come  to  my  arms.'  Now,  I'll  go  home  and 
answer  her  note.  I'll  cut  the  office  for  to-day.  I'm  not 
in  a  frame  of  mind  for  legal  matters." 

All  the  way  home  Burton  was  arranging  in  his  mind 
what  style  of  answer  he  should  send  to  Rachel,  which, 
while  exhibiting  the  state  of  his  feelings,  would  not  go  so 
far  as  to  destroy  any  hope  she  might  have  of  a  favorable 
termination.  He  could  not  do  this  satisfactorily,  he 
found,  for  no  matter  what  form  of  reply  he  concocted, 
there  were  certain  to  arise  objections  to  it,  which  were 
too  weighty  to  be  overcome.  All  his  diplomatic  tact 
would  be  required  to  indite  a  note  that  would  accomplish 
the  object  he  had  in  view,  and  do  nothing  more.  He 
was  in  the  midst  of  his  cogitations,  when,  from  around 
the  corner  he  was  approaching,  came  a  lady  that  he 
thought  he  recognized,  but  that  he  could  not  at  once 
identify.  On  she  came  toward  him,  walking  with  more 
of  a  duck-like  gait  than  most  women,  and  smiling  and 
bobbing  her  head  as  she  saw  him.  "  By  Heavens,  it's 
the  Billy  girl  !"  exclaimed  Burton.  "  What  a  vulgar 
little  beast  it  is  !" 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  Burton,"  said    Miss  Billy,  as 


326  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

Burton,  taking  off  his  hat,  was  passing  by.  "  One 
moment,  if  you  please.  I  was  on  my  way  to  your  office, 
for  I  wish  to  consult  you  on  a  legal  matter  of  great  im- 
portance. I'm  so  glad  you're  coming  this  evening.  It's 
very  kind  of  you,  but  I  think  you  will  not  regret  it. 
Now,  about  this  matter." 

"It  is  a  legal  maxim,  Miss  Bremen,"  said  Burton, 
smiling  grimly  in  the  effort  to  look  pleased,  but  wishing 
Miss  Billy  was  at  the  devil,  or  some  other  equally  remote 
place,  "  with  the  legal  profession,  that  sidewalk  opinions 
are  worthless." 

"  You  haven't  given  up  law,  have  you  ?"  exclaimed 
Miss  Billy. 

"  No  ;  but  I  shall  be  obliged  to  ask  you  to  come  to  my 
office.  It  is  my  business  to  advise  you  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  but  I  can't  do  it  here." 

"  Will  you  make  an  appointment  with  me  now, 
Mr.  Burton  ?  The  matter  is  one  that  can't  wait, 
arid  I'll  have  to  ask  you,  I  guess,  to  make  it  for  right 
away." 

"  At  three  o'clock,  then>  Miss  Bremen,"  said  Burton, 
taking  a  memorandum -book  from  his  pocket  and  enter- 
ing the  engagement,  "  I  shall  hope  to  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you,  and  in  the  mean  time  good-morning!" 
He  took  off  his  hat,  and  bowed,  smiling  at  the  same  time 
as  pleasantly  as  he  could,  and  then  trudged  on  down  the 
Avenue  to  write  his  answer  to  Rachel. 

Arrived  at  his  room,  he  seated  himself  at  his  desk,  and 
taking  a  sheet  of  his  finest  note-paper,  stamped  with  his 
coat-of-arms  in  full  emblazonry,  began  his  reply. 

"  Mr.  Burton  has  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  Miss  Meadows's  note,  and  regrets —  Pshaw,"  he  ex- 
claimed, tearing  the  sheet  in  two,  and  throwing  the  pieces 


REFLECTIONS.  327 

into  the  waste-basket,  "  that  won't  do  !"     Then  taking 
another  sheet,  he  began  again  : 

"  I  am  as  miserable  as  you,  dear  Rachel.  1  feel  now 
as  though  I  could  never  smile  again.  Your  blow  went 
to  my  heart ;  but  I  should  be  a  monster  if  I  did  not  take 
your  honest  note  for  all  you  intended  to  reveal. 
God—" 

He  stopped  suddenly,  and  read  over  what  he  had 
written.  "  That's  a  good  piece  of  writing,"  he  said  at 
last,  "  but  it  goes  too  far  ;  makes  me  jump  at  the  bait  as 
though  I  were  a  hungry  trout  that  hadn't  seen  a  fly  in  a 
month.  No,  no,  that  won't  do  !"  And  the  second 
note  followed  the  fate  of  the  first. 

"  What  a  disgusting  voice  that  Bremen  has  !"  he  ex- 
claimed, throwing  down  his  pen,  "  so  different  from  my 
Rachel's,  for  she  is  mine  potentially,  if  not  actually. 
One  is  like  that  of  a  poll-parrot  with  a  cold  in  its  head, 
and  the  other's  like — like  the  soughing  of  the  zephyr 
through  a  hedge  of  rose-bushes.  Yes,  that's  it.  I 
ne^er  heard  a  zephyr  sough  through  a  hedge  of  rose- 
bushes, but  I  can  imagine  what  it's  like,  and  my  Rachel's 
voice  is  just  as  soft,  and  low,  and  sweet,  and  as  ladened 
with  perfume. ' ' 

Another  sheet  of  paper  was  brought  into  requisition, 
and  a  third  attempt  made  to  answer  Rachel's  note. 

"  Poor  girl  !"  he  said,  reading  over  for,  perhaps,  the 
twentieth  time  what  she  had  written  him.  "  She  wants 
me  to  come  and  see  her.  Doubtless  she  is  sitting  at 
home  now  wondering  why  I  don't  come,  and  telling  her 
I  forgive  her,  clasp  her  to  my  heart.  My  darling," 
kissing  the  note  as  he  spoke,  "  there's  nothing  I'd  like 
to  do  more  than  that  very  thing,  but  unfortunately  I 
can't !  You've  put  it  out  of  my  power  just  as  much  as 


328  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

though  you  stood  on  one  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
and  I  on  the  other.  Psychological  reasons  are  stronger 
even  than  physical  ones.  My  pride,  Rachel,  my  devilish 
pride,  stands  between  us.  And  then  I'm  afraid.  I  don't 
know  you  well  enough  yet.  Woman's-rights  women  are 
different  from  the  others.  They're  always  on  the  look- 
out to  bring  a  man  down  on  his  marrow-bones.  So  for 
the  present,  my  dear,  you'll  have  to  sit.  Not,  I  hope,  so 
long  as  the  '  Maid  of  Meurs,'  nor  with  such  continued 
fasting,  nor  with  such  unpleasant  consequences. 

"  '  This  "  Maid  of  Meurs"  thirty  and  six  years  spent, 
Fourteen  of  which  she  took  no  nourishment ; 
Thus,  pale  and  wan,  she  sits  sad  and  alone, 
A  garden's  all  she  loves  to  look  upon.' 

"  You  won't  lose  your  beauty,  and  you'll  love  to  look 
at  me  when  you  see  me  again.  Now  for  the  note. 

"  '  I  am  wickeder  than  you,  and  twice  as  wretched. 
You  have  dealt  me  a  blow  from  which  I  suffer.  Time 
may,  perhaps,  heal  the  wound,  but  it  bleeds  yet. 

6(  t  rr\   )  jj 

He  read  this  over  aloud.  "  Yes,"  he  said,  S(  Macchia- 
velli  couldn't  do  it  better.  It  shows  how  humble  I  am 
—  wickeder  ;  how  much  more  miserable  than  she  ;  rec- 
ognizes the  severity  of  the  injury  ;  holds  out  hope  or 
no  hope  in  the  future  ;  but  it  bleeds  yet ;  and  there- 
fore just  at  this  present  moment  the  wound  is  too  fresh 
to  admit  of  reconciliation." 

He  folded  the  note,  and  directing  it  to  "  Miss  Rachel 
Meadows,"  dropped  it  into  the  letter-box  as  he  went  out 
on  his  way  to  his  office  to  keep  his  appointment  with 
Miss  Billy  Bremen.  It  was  now  half -past  two,  and  he 


REFLECTIONS.  329 

had  barely  time  to  get  there  in  season.  So  he  entered 
one  of  the  hacks  standing  in  front  of  the  club  house,  and 
drove  down-town,  feeling  that  he  had  got  over  a  difficult 
matter  in  a  very  satisfactory  way,  and  that  Rachel  would 
still  more  reproach  herself,  and  be  still  more  anxious  to 
see  him  when  she  read  his  note. 

Then  he  thought  a  little  of  the  coming  interview  with 
Miss  Bremen,  and  would  have  been  glad  could  he  have 
found  some  way  of  escaping  it.  Law  was,  however,  his 
profession,  and  it  was  a  duty  he  owed  himself  to  take  all 
cases  that  were  not  tainted  with  dishonor.  What  the 
nature  of  Miss  Bremen's  business  was  he  could  not 
divine.  Fortunately  he  would  not  have  long  to  wait,  for 
here  he  was  at  his  office  in  the  lower  part  of  Broad- 
way, at  the  door  of  which  stood  a  private  carriage, 
doubtless  Miss  Billy's.  He  looked  at  his  watch.  "  Five 
minutes  to  three,"  he  said.  "  She's  in  a  hurry." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MACHINATIONS. 

"  You  see  I'm  punctual,  Mr.  Burton,"  exclaimed  Miss 
Billy  ;  "  I'm  always  punctual.  Pa  used  to  tell  me  that 
a  lady  shouldn't  never  keep  a  gentleman  waiting." 

"  Your  father  was  an  excellent  man  of  business  I  have 
no  doubt,  Miss  Bremen,"  said  Burton,  as  he  took  off  his 
overcoat.  "  Has  Mr.  Jenkins  called  about  those  lands 
near  San  Antonio  ?"  he  continued,  addressing  his  clerk, 
who  sat  at  a  desk  under  the  window. 

"  Yes,  sir  ;  he  was  here  half  an  hour  ago.  He  will 
call  again  at  half -past  three." 

"  Then,  you  see,  Miss  Bremen,  that  I  have  but  half  an 
hour  at  your  service.  Will  you  walk  into  the  next  room, 
please  ?  We  shall  be  less  apt  to  be  disturbed." 

Into  his  private  office  the  two  went,  and  Burton  hand- 
ing her  a  chair,  and  seating  himself  at  the  table,  awaited 
the  opening  of  the  consultation. 

"  First,  Mr.  Burton,"  said  Billy,  producing  what  was 
apparently  a  letter,  "  allow  me  to  hand  you  this.  It 
contains  a  retaining  fee,' '  saying  which,  she  placed  the 
envelope  on  the  table. 

"  Retaining  fees  have  always  a  powerful  influence 
over  a  lawyer,  Miss  Bremen,"  said  Burton,  "but  I 
have  made  it  a  rule  never  to  accept  one  till  I  have  been 
informed  of  the  nature  of  the  case  in  which  my  services 
are  required." 


MACHINATION'S.  331 

"  Quite  right,  Mr.  Burton.  You  are  the  soul  of 
honor,  and  so  am  I,  too.  We'll  let  it  lie  there,  if  you 
please,  till  I  have  stated  my  business,  and  you  have  deter- 
mined whether  or  not  you  will  help  me." 

To  this  Burton  bowed  assent,  and  Miss  Billy  con- 
tinued : 

"  I  have  received  what  may  be  considered  a  very  ad- 
vantageous offer  for  my  abattoir  and  all  its  appurtenances. 
I'm  anxious  to  give  up  the  business,  and  take  my  proper 
position  in  New  York  society,  to  which  my  wealth  and, 
1  may  add,  my  education  entitle  me.  The  offer  comes 
from  a  German  gentleman  in  Texas  named  Morgenstern, 
who  represents  himself  as  a  wealthy  cattle-raiser  and 
land-owner.  I  have  his  proposition  here,"  producing  a 
paper  from  somewhere  in  the  folds  of  her  gown.  "  Do 
you  know  such  a  man  ?" 

Burton  took  the  paper  and  glanced  over  it.  "  I  know 
Mr.  Henry  Morgenstern  very  well,"  he  said.  "  He  is 
perfectly  reliable.  I  see,"  he  continued,  "  that  he 
offers  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  whole 
'  plant '  and  good-will.  Of  course,  I  cannot  advise  you 
whether  or  not  to  take  that  sum,  because  I  do  not  know 
what  the  property  and  good- will  are  worth." 

' '  It  has  never  paid  me  less  than  twenty  thousand  a 
year,  and  last  year  it  paid  thirty  thousand." 

Burton  took  a  pencil  and  paper,  and  made  some  figures. 

"  I  should  think  that  was  a  fair  price,  then,"  he  said. 
"  I  perceive  that  he  proposes  to  pay  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  down,  and  the  balance  in  two  notes  of  equal 
amount,  bearing  interest  at  six  per  cent,  and  running, 
one  six  months,  and  the  other  twelve,  and  secured  by  a 
first  mortgage  on  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  in 
Texas.  I  know  the  land.  The  security  is  good." 


832  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Then  you  advise  me  to  accept  ?" 

"  Yes,  if  you  wish  to  sell.  If  you  have  quite  made 
up  your  mind  to  go  out  of  business,  you  cannot  do  better 
than  to  accept  Mr.  Morgenstern's  proposition." 

"  What  do  you  think  ?"  said  Miss  Billy,  putting  on  a 
look  that  was  meant  to  be  confiding,  but  which  in  reality 
was  almost  anything  anybody  might  have  chosen  to  call 
it.  "I  am  all  alone,  with  no  one  to  advise  me,  and  I 
am  so  unsophisticated  and  trustful,  and  I  have  so 
much  confidence  in  your  judgment  as  my  counsel  and 
in  your  kindness  as  a  friend,  that  I  look  to  you  for 
guidance.  Do  you  think  it  proper  for  a  young  lady, 
with  over  a  million  dollars,  to  be  carrying  on  business  as 
a  butcher?" 

"  It  is  an  honest  and  a  useful  calling,  Miss  Bremen.  If 
you  like  it,  1  see  no  reason  why  you  should  not  stick  to 
it  as  long  as  you  live." 

"  But  I  hate  it.  I  liked  it  once,  before  I  knew  as 
much  as  I  do  now  ;  but  during  the  last  couple  of  weeks 
I've  begun  to  go  into  society.  By  nature  and  education 
I  am  very  refined,  Mr.  Burton,  and  I  see  how  much 
better  a  position  1  could  take — one  more  in  accordance 
with  my  tastes — if  I  were  to  go  out  of  the  business. 
Now,"  she  continued,  rising  and  approaching  him,  till 
she  stood  by  his  side,  with  her  fat,  chubby  hands,  clothed 
in  purple  gloves,  resting  on  the  table,  "  won't  you  ad  vise 
me  as  a  friend  what  to  do  ?" 

u  As  I  understand  the  matter,  Miss  Bremen,"  said 
Burton,  "  you  came  to  consult  me  as  a  lawyer.  In  that 
capacity  I  am  ready  to  advise  you  ;  but  I  have  no  right 
to  do  so  as  a  friend. ' ' 

""Well,  as  a  lawyer,  then,"  she  said,  going  back  to 
her  chair. 


MACHINATIONS.  333 

"  I  see  no  objection  to  your  giving  up  the  business, 
especially  as  you  do  not  like  it. " 

"  Thanks  !  Then,  that  is  settled.  Now  in  regard  to 
Mr.  Morgenstern's  offer.  You  advise  me  to  accept 
it?" 

"Yes." 

"  Then  I  will  leave  the  papers  with  you,  and  you  will 
prepare  all  the  others  that  may  be  required  ?" 

"  Certainly,  and  will  send  them  to  you  in  a  few  days. 
I  shall  have,  however,  to  send  to  Texas  to  see  that  the 
property  is  unencumbered. " 

"  I  leave  it  all  in  your  hands.  Do  what  you  think 
right ;  only  get  me  out  of  it  as  soon  as  possible." 

"  That  is  all,  Miss  Bremen  ?" 

"  No,  there  is  another  thing  ;  but  as  you  decline  to 
consider  yourself  my  friend,  I  am  afraid  to  mention  it ; 
for  it  is  a  friend's  advice  that  1  need  now." 

Miss  Billy's  voice  was  so  imploring  that  Burton  was 
inclined  to  relent.  The  idea  of  a  woman,  no  matter 
who,  being  in  distress  was  one  that  always  moved  him  ; 
and  even  one  so  unpleasant  as  she,  speaking  and  looking 
pleadingly,  appealed  to  his  sympathies.  Clearly  it  was 
his  duty  to  help  her  if  she  needed  his  aid. 

"  I  did  not  say  I  was  not  your  friend,  Miss  Bremen," 
he  said,  at  last,  "  I  only  said  I  had  no  right  to  consider 
myself  such.  Pray,  tell  me  what  further  I  can  do  for 
you." 

"  Now  you  are  kind  again,"  she  said,  with  a  little 
giggle.  "  If  you  haven't  the  right  to  be  my  friend,  then 
no  one  has  ;  for  you  have  done  so  much  for  me." 

"And  been  well  paid  for  it,"  exclaimed  Burton,  laugh- 
ing. 

"  The  horrid  money  !"  said  Miss  Billy,  hypocritically. 


334  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Is  it  always  to  stand  between  me  and  those  whose 
friendship  I  desire  ?" 

"  I  trust  not.  Now,  I'll  drop  the  lawyer,  and  you  will 
tell  me  how  I  can  help  you." 

"  Oh,  you  are  so  kind,  Mr.  Burton,  I  can  never,  never 
forget  your  goodness  to  me  !  If  I  am  rich,  I'm  only  an 
orphan  girl,  and  riches  can't  take  the  place  of  friends. 
Well,  to  begin,"  she  continued,  drawing  her  chair  toward 
him,  till  she  was  near  enough  to  admit  of  closer  intimacy 
than  that  shown  by  words,  should  the  occasion  require, 
"  When  I  was  much  younger  than  I  am  now,  although 
I'm  not  twenty-two  yet,  I  fell  in  with  a  lot  of  women 
who  flattered  me  and  gave  me  wrong  notions  of  the 
position  of  woman  in  the  world  and  of  the  crimes  of 
man  toward  her.  I  became  very  enthusiastic  in  support 
of  what  I  supposed  were  the  rights  of  my  sex,  and  very 
severe  on  man,  who  I  thought  was  a  monster  of  iniquity 
and  tyranny.  I  done  (Miss  Billy  occasionally  fell  into  a 
grammatical  error,  though  usually  she  spoke  quite  cor- 
rectly) some  very  foolish  things,  1  guess,  and  among 
them,  and  the  very  worst,  was  joining  the  c  United 
Women  of  America.'  I  gave  them  a  good  deal  of 
money,  and  they  made  me  an  officer  and  a  member  of 
the  executive  committee  ;  but  for  all  that,  I  never  quite 
liked  them.  They  were  so  hard  in  their  dispositions  ! 
Oh,  so  hard,  whereas  I  am  all  tenderness  and  gentleness  !" 

Miss  Billy  put  on  one  of  her  most  languishing  airs, 
and  looked  at  Burton — who  was  twisting  a  piece  of  paper 
into  all  sorts  of  queer  shapes — as  though  she  would  like 
to  finish  her  autobiography  with  her  head  on  his  shoul- 
der ;  but  as  he  made  no  remark  relative  to  her  "  change 
of  heart, ' '  she  resumed  : 

"  Yes,  there  were  some  pretty  coarse-grained  women 


MACHINATIONS.  335 

in  that  crowd,  such  as  Miss  Richardson  and  Miss  Mead- 
ows. (At  this  name  Burton  started,  and  looked  for 
the  first  time  as  though  he  took  an  interest  in  the  dis- 
course.) They  both  hate  men,  as  if  the  whole  male 
sex  was  made  up  of  horrid  demons  in  human  shape, 
whose  only  object  in  life  is  to  injure  women.  I've  heard 
them  both  say  that  if  they  ever  got  the  chance  they 
would  make  men  as  ridiculous  as  they  could,  and  break 
their  hearts,  as  so  many  men  have  broken  women's 
hearts. ' ' 

While  Miss  Billy  was  speaking  these  latter  words, 
Burton  had  kept  his  eyes  full  on  her  face  ;  but  she  had 
stood  his  gaze  without  flinching  ;  and  though  he  did  not 
believe  all  that  she  said,  he  thought  there  might  be  some 
foundation  for  it  in  the  general  fact  that  Rachel  hated 
the  male  sex. 

"  It  seems  too  horrible  for  you  to  believe,  Mr.  Bur- 
ton, I  know,''  continued  Miss  Billy,  observing  the  in- 
terest excited  in  her  listener  ;  "  but  just  let  me  read  you 
a  paragraph  or  two  from  one  of  Miss  Meadows's  lectures. 
I've  got  it  here  in  the  Tattler,  just  as  it  was  delivered 
less  than  a  year  ago. " 

She  took  a  paper  from  her  pocket,  and  proceeded  to 
read  as  follows,  Burton  listening  with  all  the  attention  of 
which  he  was  capable  : 

"  '  Ah  !  why  do  women  condescend  to  receive  a  degree 
of  attention  and  respect  from  strangers  different  from 
that  reciprocation  of  civility  which  the  dictates  of  hu- 
manity and  politeness  of  civilization  authorize  between 
man  and  man  ?  And  why  do  they  not  discover,  when  in 
the  noon  of  beauty's  power,  that  they  are  treated  like 
queens,  only  to  be  deluded  by  hollow  respect,  till  they  are 
led  to  resign,  or  not  to  assume  their  natural  prerogatives  ? 


336  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

I  laiiient  that  women  are  systematically  degraded  by  re- 
ceiving the  trivial  attentions  which  men  think  it  manly 
to  pay  to  the  sex,  when,  in  fact,  they  are  insultingly  sup- 
porting their  own  superiority.  It  is  not  condescension 
to  bow  to  an  inferior.  So  ludicrous,  in  fact,  do  their 
ceremonies  appear  to  me,  that  I  scarcely  am  able  to 
govern  my  muscles  when  I  see  a  man  start  with  eager 
and  serious  solicitude  to  lift  a  handkerchief,  or  shut  a 
door,  when  the  lady  could  have  done  it  herself,  had  she 
only  moved  a  step  or  two. 

"  '  And  love  !  what  diverting  scenes  would  it  produce  ! 
Pantaloon's  tricks  must  yield  to  egregious  folly.  To  see 
a  mortal  adorn  an  object  with  imaginary  charms,  and 
then  fall  down  and  worship  the  idol  which  he  had  him- 
self set  up,  how  ridiculous  ! '  " 

"  It  strikes  me,"  said  Burton,  "  that  while  those  are  not 
exactly  the  sentiments  I  would  like  to  have  women  of 
refinement  possess,  they  do  not  precisely  bear  out  what 
you  affirm  were  Miss  Meadows' s  opinions." 

"I'm  not  done  yet!"  exclaimed  Miss  Billy,  casting 
her  eyes  down  the  column  for  another  suitable  quota- 
tion. "  Of  course  you  couldn't  expect  her  to  say  in  a 
public  lecture  that  she  was  waiting  for  a  chance  to  re- 
pay man's  insults  to  the  sex  ;  for  to  do  so  would,  by 
putting  men  on  their  guard,  defeat  her  object.  But 
here,"  she  continued,  as  she  apparently  found  what  she 
wanted  ;  "  what  do  you  think  of  this  ? 

"  '  If  a  celebrated  author  had  not  already  told  us  that 
there  is  nothing  in  nature  so  much  to  be  wondered  at  as 
that  we  can  wonder  at  all,  it  must  appear  to  every  one 
who  has  but  a  degree  of  understanding  above  that  of  the 
idiot,  a  matter  of  the  greatest  surprise  to  observe  the 
universal  prevalence  of  prejudice  and  custom  in  the 


MACHINATIONS.  337 

minds  of  the  men.  One  might  naturally  expect  to  see 
those  lordly  creatures,  as  they  modestly  term  themselves, 
everywhere  jealous  of  the  superiority,  and  watchful  to 
maintain  it.  Instead  of  which,  if  we  accept  the  tyran- 
nical usurpation  of  authority  they  exert  over  us  women, 
we  shall  find  them  industrious  in  nothing  but  courting 
the  meanest  servitude.  Were  their  ambition  laudable  and 
just,  it  would  be  consistent  in  itself,  and  this  consistency 
would  render  them  alike  imperious  in  every  circumstance 
where  authority  is  requisite  and  justifiable.  And  if 
their  brutal  strength  of  body  entitled  them  to  lord  it 
over  our  nicer  frame,  the  superiority  of  reason  to  passion 
might  suffice  to  make  them  ashamed  of  submitting  that 
reason  to  passion,  prejudice,  and  groundless  custom.  If 
this  haughty  sex  would  have  us  believe  they  have  a 
natural  right  of  superiority  over  us,  why  don't  they 
prove  their  charter  from  nature  by  making  use  of  reason 
to  subdue  themselves  ? ' 

Burton  listened  in  astonishment.  Such  coarse  sen- 
timents to  come  from  a  delicate  and  refined  woman,  such 
as  he  had  supposed  Eachel  to  be,  grieved  him  beyond 
measure.  They  were  the  ordinary  stock-in-trade  of  the 
lower  grades  of  the  professional  agitators  for  woman's 
rights.  He  had  placed  Eachel  far  above  this  class.  Now 
he  discovered  that  she  was  no  better  than  the  rest  of 
them.  He  took  the  paper  from  Miss  Billy's  hands,  and 
looked  over  the  report  of  the  lecture.  Yes,  there  were 
the  words,  sure  enough,  and  under  the  heading  "  Lecture 
by  Miss  Rachel  Meadows,  on  the  subject,  '  Woman  not 
Inferior  to  Man.'  Stenographic  report." 

He  handed  it  back  without  a  word.     His  ideal  had 
been  desecrated.     She  had  desecrated  herself.     Happily, 
it  was  all  over  between  them. 
15 


338  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Burton,"  said  liis  visitor,  elated  over  the 
impression  that  she  perceived  she  had  made,  "  are  you 
surprised  that  I,  a  girl  not  out  of  my  teens,  should  have 
been  influenced  by  association  with  such  a  woman  ?  1 
became,  in  fact,  as  bad — perhaps  worse — for  I  have  a 
heart,  and  when  1  feel  1  feel  strongly  ;  but  now,  thank 
God !  the  scales  have  fallen  from  my  eyes. " 

"  You  are  fortunate,  Miss  Bremen,"  said  Burton,  with 
some  bitterness,  "  that  they  have  fallen  before  any  seri- 
ous mischief  has  been  done." 

"  Yes  ;  my  heart  is  still  sound  to  the  core.  Now,  tell 
me,  you  who  are  so  wise  and  generous,  had  I  better 
leave  them  ?" 

"  I  can  only  say,  Miss  Bremen,  that  if  I  had  a  daugh- 
ter I  should  not  like  her  to  have  any  associations  with 
women  promulgating  such  false  sentiments  as  those  you 
have  just  read." 

"  Thanks  !  Oh,  you  are  so  good  !  That  is  quite 
enough  for  rne.  Good-by,  Mr.  Burton,  till  this  even- 
ing. You  have  taken  a  load  off  of  my  mind,  and  my 
resignation  goes  in  this  very  day." 

She  was  gone,  leaving  Burton  in  a  state  of  mind  in 
which  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  say  whether  disgust 
or  elation,  predominated.  The  idea  that  a  woman  as 
pretty,  graceful,  well-born  and  well-educated  as  Rachel 
Meadows,  whose  modesty  of  deportment  was  probably  as- 
sumed for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  entrapping  him,  should 
have  gone  about  the  country  parading  such  brazen-faced 
opinions  as  those  he  had  just  heard,  before  mixed  audi- 
ences of  men  and  women,  was  to  his  mind  a  shocking  pie.ce 
of  indelicacy.  The  ideas  themselves  were  immodest. 
They  would  have  been  bad  enough  coming  from  a  woman 
doctor ;  but  from  a  girl  pretending  to  refinement,  one 


MACHINATIONS.  339 

setting  herself  up — as  she  apparently  had  to  him — as  n't 
to  be  the  wife  of  a  gentleman,  they  were  simply  horrible. 
Well,  he  was  free,  at  any  rate.  His  letter  had  left  the 
door  open  to  him  if  he  should  ever  choose  to  go  back, 
while  it  had  closed  it  against  her  if  he  chose  to  keep  it 
shut.  It  would  do  very  well  as  it  stood  ;  so  good-by 
to  Rachel  Meadows  ! 

Then  he  wrote  accepting  the  invitation  to  lecture  in 
Boston,  and  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  informing 
him  that  he  would  be  in  Washington  in  a  day  or  two  for 
conference  on  the  Mexican  matter. 

66  That's  business  enough  for  to-day,"  he  said  to  him- 
self, as  he  went  into  the  outer  room.  li  Mr.  Roman,  if 
Mr.  Jenkins  calls —  Hello,  there  you  are  !"  he  con- 
tinued, as  the  gentleman  in  question  came  forward.  "  I 
was  going  for  a  ride  ;  but  come  in,  and  I'll  attend  to  your 
affair  at  once."  It  was  late  when  he  left  his  office,  and 
he  had  barely  time  to  dress  for  Miss  Billy  Bremen's 
dinner. 

It  was  a  long  drive  from  the  Menhaden  Club  to  East 
Seventy-fifth  Street,  where  Miss  Billy  Bremen  lived, 
the  sole  monarch  of  all  she  surveyed,  and  it  was  not  to 
Burton,  under  existing  circumstances,  a  very  agreeable 
one.  He  admitted  the  general  truth  of  the  allegations 
she  had  brought  against  Rachel,  while  he  could  not  fail 
to  perceive  that  the  narrator  was  prejudiced  and  in  the 
highest  degree  inimical  to  the  woman  he  had  loved. 
Besides,  as  is  usual  in  similar  cases,  while  he  was  glad  he 
had  been  made  acquainted  with  Rachel's  real  character, 
he  experienced  a  feeling  of  dislike  for  the  woman  who 
had  placed  her  mental  deformities  before  him.  We  like 
the  treason,  but  we  despise  the  traitor. 

He  had  been  very  observant  of  Miss  Billy's  language 


340  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  manner  during  her  visit  to  his  office.  He  saw  that 
she  was  extremely  anxious  to  ingratiate  herself  with 
him,  both  by  praising  herself  and  calling  attention  to  her 
wealth,  and  by  putting  the  flattery  thick  on  him  when- 
ever an  opportunity  had  offered.  After  her  departure 
he  had  opened  the  envelope  that  she  had  left  on  the 
table,  and  that  she  had  said  contained  his  retaining  fee, 
and  had  found  a  check  for  five  thousand  dollars.  For  a 
few  minutes  he  had  entertained  grave  doubts  in  regard 
to  the  propriety  of  accepting  so  large  a  sum,  simply  as  a 
retainer  ;  but  upon  consideration  he  decided  to  pocket 
it,  as  probably  every  lawyer  in  the  world  would  have 
done,  for,  as  he  reflected,  it  was,  after  all,  only  about  one 
per  cent  of  the  sum  involved  in  the  transaction  he  was 
about  to  consummate,  and  there  would  be  no  small 
amount  of  trouble  and  responsibility  connected  with  the 
business  of  effecting  the  transfer. 

When  he  arrived  at  Miss  Bremen's  residence,  and 
entered  the  gorgeous  drawing-room  in  which  his  hostess 
was  receiving  her  guests,  it  was  exactly  six  o'clock,  and 
several  of  the  company  had  already  arrived.  She  greeted 
him  with  a  degree  of  effusiveness  that  was  at  once  in- 
tended as  flattery  for  him,  and  as  a  means  of  exaltation 
in  the  regard  of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  present,  who 
could  not,  she  thought,  fail  to  esteem  her  more  highly 
when  they  found  she  was  on  such  familiar  terms  with  so 
great  a  man  as  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton. 

"  It  is  so  good  of  you,  Mr.  Burton,"  she  said,  holding 
out  a  hand  which  Burton  touched  very  lightly,  "  to  lay 
aside  all  your  important  business,  and  give  us  the  ines- 
timable privilege  of  your  society.  I  see  by  this  morn- 
ing's papers  that  you  are  going  soon  to  Mexico  on  a 
diplomatic  mission  of  great  importance.  In  honoring 


MACHINATIONS.  341 

such  men  as  you,  the  country  honors  itself.  Mr.  Bur- 
ton," she  continued,  with  a  wave  of  her  hand  toward  a 
fat  old  lady,  nearly  as  broad  as  she  was  long,  and  who 
wore  a  dress  of  blue  velvet  ornamented  with  artificial 
wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  Indian  corn  in  bouquets  stuck  all 
over  the  front,  l '  allow  me  to  make  you  acquainted  with 
Mrs.  Willoughby  Bull,  of  Cincinnati.  She's  a  widow 
worth  three  millions,"  she  continued,  in  a  whisper; 
u  owns  thousands  of  acres  of  the  richest  land  in  the 
West,  and  kills  half  a  million  of  hogs  every  year. " 

"  I  knowed  a  Burton  onst,"  said  Mrs.  Bull,  holding 
out  a  dropsical-looking  hand,  the  fingers  of  which  were 
covered  with  diamond  rings,  "  but  he  wern't  as  hand- 
some as  you.  He  had  a  humped  back,  and  one  leg  war 
shorter  than  t'other,  and  his  hair  war  so  all-fired  red 
that  the  boys  called  him  Rory  Bory  Allus.  He  was  a 
deck-hand  on  the  Prairie  Belle,  as  run  atween  Peory 
and  St.  Louis.  P  Vaps  he  wern't  no  kin  o'  yourn  ?" 

"  No,  madam,  1  regret  to  say  that  in  all  probability  I 
cannot  claim  relationship  with  the  Aurora  Borealis." 

He  passed  on,  still  escorted  by  his  hostess.  "  Allow 
me,  Mr.  Burton,"  repeated  Miss  Billy,  "  to  make  you 
acquainted  with  Miss  Julia  Augusta  Fitzgerald,  one  of  the 
aristocracy  of  Ireland,"  she  whispered,  "  a  descendant  of 
Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald,  who,  as  you  know,  was  a 
younger  son  of  the  Duke  of  Leinster." 

Burton  bowed,  and  the  lady  bowed.  He  thought  she 
was  pretty,  and  he  wondered  where  Miss  Billy  had  got- 
ten hold  of  the  only  woman  in  the  room  that  looked  like 
a  lady. 

"  This,  Mr.  Burton,"  continued  Miss  Bremen,  as  they 
went  round  the  room  on  the  voyage  of  discovery,  ' (  is 
Mr.  John  Clodd,  the  eminent  poet." 


342  A    STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mr.  Burton !"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Clodd,  grasping  Burton's  hand,  and  shaking  it  as  though 
it  were  a  pump-handle.  "  I've  often  heard  you  speak. 
Never  heard  your  equal,  sir.  You  can  move  the  masses 
in  a  way  that  no  other  speaker  can  move  them.  A  nat- 
ural born  orator — Orator  nascitur  non  fit.  Ha  !  ha  ! 
You  see  I  haven't  forgotten  my  Latin." 

"  1  have  read  some  of  your  verses,  Mr.  Clodd,"  said 
Burton,  "  and  am  glad  to  meet  you." 

"  I'm  engaged  on  an  epic  now.  They  say  the  day  for 
epics  has  passed.  I'll  show  them  whether  it  is  or  not. 
I've  taken  as  my  subject  '  The  Building  of  the  Niagara 
Suspension  Bridge,'  and  I  begin  with  the  conception  of 
the  idea  in  Roebling's  brain — *  His  seething,  bubbling, 
whirling  brain,'  as  I  call  it,  and  then  on  through  the 
digging  of  the  iron  ore,  the  making  of  the  wire — '  Long 
drawn  out  to  strands  of  ductile  strength,'  to  the  comple- 
tion of  the  great  structure.  Twelve  cantos." 

Burton  was  about  to  say  something  when  two  ladies 
entered  the  room,  and  Miss  Billy  rushed  forward,  drag- 
ging him  with  her,  to  greet  them. 

"  Oh,  I'm  so  glad  you're  come  ;  I  was  in  hopes  you'd 
come  early,  so  as  I  could  have  had  a  little  chat  with  you," 
she  gushed  out,  kissing  the  two  new-comers,  and  then 
shaking  both  hands  of  each.  "  Mr.  Burton,"  she  went 
on,  scarcely  stopping  to  take  breath,  "  allow  me  to  pre- 
sent you  to  my  friend,  Miss  Sorby,  and  to  my  other 
friend,  Miss  Boggs." 

Burton  bowed  to  each  of  the  ladies.  He  had  met 
them  in  society,  and  had  exchanged  words  with  them, 
without  having  more  than  a  speaking  acquaintance. 

"  I  don't  know  whether  to  speak  to  Mr.  Burton  or 
not,' '  said  Miss  Sorby,  with  a  smile  of  delight  on  her 


MACHINATIONS.  343 

face  which  belied  her  expressed  intention.  "  He's  prom- 
ised ever  so  many  times  to  call,  and  he's  never  done  so 
yet.  However,  I'll  forgive  you,  if  you'll  promise  to  be 
a  good  boy,  and  never  do  so  any  more." 

"  I  go  so  little  into  society,  Miss  Sorby,  and  I  am  so 
much  out  of  the  city—" 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  a  poor  excuse  is  better  than  none.  But 
didn't  1  see  you  at  Mrs.  Moultrie's  lecture  yesterday? 
Of  course  I  did." 

"  Ah  !  but  they  are  very  old  friends,  and  very  dear 
ones." 

u  And  I  am  neither.  Very  well,  sir  !  However,  per- 
haps I  may  find  greater  favor  in  your  isight  on  further 
acquaintance." 

And  with  a  wave  of  her  hand,  as  though  she  were 
drinking  a  toast,  Miss  Sorby  turned  away  to  speak  to  Mr. 
Clodd,  who  had  just  approached  her. 

"  There  are  only  two  more  to  come,"  said  Miss  Billy, 
who  held  on  to  him  as  though  under  the  apprehension 
that  if  she  once  let  him  go  she  would  never  be  able  to 
recover  him  again,  "  and  then  we  shall  be  of  the  number 
of  the  muses.  Those  are  two  very  nice  young  ladies. 
Don't  you  think  so  ?  I  haven't  known  them  long,  but 
I'm  very  fond  of  them.  They're  going  to  introduce  me 
into  society.  You'll  take  me  into  dinner — that  is,  if 
you've  no  objection." 

Burton  expressed  his  pleasure  at  the  arrangement,  as 
politeness  required. 

"  I've  invited  the  other  two  we're  waiting  for  not  be- 
cause they're  anybodies,  but  because  one  can  sing,  and 
the  other's  a  great  wit.  1  thought  they'd  add  to  the  en- 
joyment of  the  evening.  Oh,  here  they  are  ;  they're 
brothers— twins,  I  believe." 


344  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

Miss  Billy  stepped  forward  to  greet  the  two  gentle- 
men, and  then,  immediately  turning  to  Burton,  intro- 
duced them  as  the  Messrs.  Schmidtlapp,  of  Hoboken. 

"  And  now  excuse  me  one  moment  till  I  arrange  my 
guests,  and  then  we'll  go  into  dinner." 

Miss  Billy  having  assorted  her  friends  to  her  satisfac- 
tion, and  started  them  on  their  way  to  the  dining-room, 
followed  leaning  heavily  on  Burton's  arm,  as  though  it 
were  the  only  support  she  had  in  her  journey  over  the 
carpet.  "  I've  been  taking  a  few  lessons  in  giving  din- 
ners from  Miss  Sorby,"  she  said.  "  She  told  me  how  to 
do  things,  and  what  to  get  ;  but  if  I  make  any  mistakes, 
don't  laugh  at  me,  please  ;  I'm  so  sensitive  !  It's  all 
cooked  at  Delmonico's.  If  you  want  anything,  ask  the 
waiters  for  it.  They  only  speak  French.  Of  course 
you  speak  French?"  interrogatively.  "I  speak  it  as 
well  as  I  do  English"  (which  she  did),  "  for,  you  see,  pa 
was  very  careful  about  my  education." 

Burton  was  glad  to  find  that  Miss  Fitzgerald  was  on 
his  right. 

"  By  the  by,  Mr.  Burton,"  said  Schmidtlapp  the  wit, 
the  moment  the  party  was  seated,  u  I  suppose  you've 
been  in  Hoboken  ?" 

"No,"  answered  Burton,  UI  have  never  had  the 
pleasure." 

"  You  haven't  missed  much.  I  and  my  brother  were 
born  there.  We're  twins.  We're  generally  regarded  as 
the  only  two  people  ever  born  in  the  place  and  staying 
there  after  they  grew  up.  Every  one  else  has  come 
there.  Our  father  and  mother  came  there.  So,  you 
see,  we  are  within  one  of  it,  anyhow  ;  and  every  other 
person,  as  soon  as  they  reach  manhood  or  womanhood, 
goes  away.  There's  something  so  melancholy  in  the 


MACHINATIONS.  345 

idea  of  being  born  in  Hoboken,  that  as  soon  as  the  brain 
gets  sufficiently  developed  to  comprehend  it  they  move 
off.  Ha  !  ha  !"  he  continued,  laughing  boisterously. 
"  I  see  what  you  are  going  to  say.  Yery  good  !  Yery 
good  !  You  were  going  to  observe  that  the  only  reason 
we  had  stayed  was  that  our  brains  were  not  sufficiently 
developed  yet  to  grasp  that  idea." 

"  Oh,  no,"  replied  Burton,  seriously;  "  on  so  short 
an  acquaintance  I  should  not  presume  so  far  as  to  take 
such  a  liberty." 

"  Don't  mind  Fred,  Mr.  Burton,"  said  Schmidtlapp 
the  singer.  "  He's  in  the  habit  of  saying  funny  things, 
and  pretending  to  think  that  others  were  about  to  say 
them.  It  gives  him  a  chance,  don't  you  see,  to  laugh  at 
his  own  jokes." 

"Now,  Jake,  if  you  don't  mind  what  you're  about, 
I'll  tell  that  story  on  you  that  Prince  Bismarck  told  the 
American  minister  the  last  time  you  dined  with  him. 
I  understand,  Miss  Fitzgerald,"  continued  this  awful 
man,  while  Burton  looked  at  him  with  astonishment 
mingled  with  anger,  ' '  that  you'  re  a  descendant  of  Lord 
Edward  Fitzgerald,  who  fought  so  gallantly,  and  who 
renounced  his  title  because  he  considered  himself  no 
better  than  other  people,  and  who  died  in  prison  ?' ' 

"  I  see  you  know  all  about  him,  sir,"  said  Miss  Fitz- 
gerald, with  a  little  hauteur.  "  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
for  me  to  enlighten  you  further." 

"  Oh,"  exclaimed  Jake,  "  he  found  out  you  were 
coming,  so  he  hunted  you  up  in  the  '  Biographical  Dic- 
tionary ! '  He's  a  keen  one,  is  Jakey." 

"  Well,  Miss  Fitzgerald,"  resumed  Fred  the  wit, 
"  as  I  was  saying,  Jakey  was  invited  to  dine  with  Prince 
Bismarck  the  last  time  he  was  in  Berlin.  It  was  a  swell 


346  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

dinner,  I  tell  you,  and  Jake  felt  scared  at  the  sight  of  so 
many  great  people.  But  the  Prince  put  him  on  his 
right,  and  soon  made  him  feel  at  home.  Now,  you  see, 
Jakey 's  one  of  those  fellows  that  if  you  give  them  an 
inch  they  want  an  ell,  so  he  launched  out  into  a  sort  of 
a  criticism  on  the  German  government,  comparing  it 
with  that  of  this  country.  All  the  princes  and  counts 
and  generals  at  the  table  looked  horrified  ;  but  Prince 
Bismarck  smiled,  and  Jakey  went  on  till  he  got  through. 
Then  the  Prince  began  by  laying  his  hand  on  Jakey's 
arm  in  the  most  friendly  manner  possible,  and  with  a 
sweet,  heavenly  smile  on  his  face,  said  : 

"  '  There  was  once  a  Russian  wit,  Mr.  Schmidtlapp, 
who  compared  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Paul  with  that 
of  his  mother.  The  Czar  appreciated  a  good  joke  as 
much  as  any  one  in  his  dominions.  He  read  over  the 
witty  verses  that  the  funny  gentleman  wrote,  and  then 
had  him  seized,  ordered  his  tongue  to  be  cut  out,  and 
sent  him  to  Alaska  to  exercise  his  jocose  powers  on  the 
savages.'  Then  the  Prince,  while  poor  Jakey  felt  as 
though  he  could  go  right  down  to  the  centre  of  the 
earth,  and  all  the  other  guests  were  silent,  beckoned  a 
footman  to  him.  The  man  left  the  room,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  returned  with  six  soldiers.  '  Take  that  man 
out,'  said  the  Prince,  {  and  set  him  down  in  the  middle 
of  the  street. '  Well,  would  you  believe  it,  they  seized 
Jake  and  carried  him  down-stairs  and  dumped  him  in  the 
mud,  and  left  him  there,  and  a  policeman  coming  along 
at  that  moment  thought  he  was  drunk,  and  took  him  to 
the  guard-house,  where  he  was  kept  twenty  four  hours, 
and  fined  fifty  dollars  for  disorderly  conduct.  Bismarck 
never  tells  that  story  without  laughing,  and  he  always  asks 
Americans  if  they  know  Jake  Schmidtlapp  of  Hoboken." 


MACHINATIONS.  347 

Every  one  laughed,  but  it  was  very  evident  there  was 
going  to  be  no  general  conversation  except  that  excited 
and  kept  going  by  the  brothers  Schmidtlapp.  Miss  Fitz- 
gerald laughed  with  the  rest,  but  she  turned  to  Burton. 

"  Don't  you  think,"  she  said,  "  that  you  could  take 
Prince  Bismarck's  place  for  this  evening,  and  serve  that 
man  as  his  brother  was  served  ?" 

"  Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure,"  answered 
Burton.  "  If  you  will  kindly  get  our  hostess  to  give 
her  consent,  I  think  I'll  try." 

"  Oh,  Miss  Bremen  !"  said  the  other  irrepressible, 
u  did  you  ever  hear  the  story  of  Fred  and  the  President  ? 
No,  I'm  sure  you  have  not.  Fred  was  in  Washington 
last  week,  and  as  soon  as  the  President  heard  of  his 
arrival,  he  sent  an  officer  of  the  army  to  call  on  him  and 
to  invite  him  to  a  State  dinner  at  the  White  House  on 
the  following  evening.  Fred  accepted,  and  when  the 
time  came  he  went,  dressed  out  fit  to  kill,  with  a  dia- 
mond stud  worth  two  thousand  dollars  in  his  shirt  front. 
Fred  thinks  he's  a  wit.  At  any  rate,  he  began  to  crack 
his  jokes  right  and  left,  not  even  sparing  the  President. 
At  last,  in  an  unlucky  moment,  Fred  said  that  he  could 
guess  in  five  minutes  any  conundrum  that  could  be 
given.  The  President  said  he  could  give  one  that  Fred 
couldn't  guess  in  that  time,  and  Fred  said  that  if  he 
didn't  he  wanted  to  be  considered  a  first-class  idiot.  So 
all  the  company  —  cabinet  ministers,  supreme  court 
judges,  senators,  and  diplomatists  —  took  out  their 
watches.  There  were  just  twenty-eight  watches  lying  on 
the  table.  Then  the  President  started  :  <  What's  the  dif- 
ference,' said  he,  '  between  a  piece  of  roast  beef  and  a 
fortification  ? ' 

"  Fred  threw  back  his  head,  and  began  to  think,  but 


348  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

for  the  life  of  him  he  couldn't  give  the  first  guess.  He 
thought  and  he  thought,  and  the  perspiration  stood  out 
on  his  forehead  in  big  drops ;  but  the  more  he  tried 
the  more  he  couldn't.  Three  minutes  went ;  four 
minutes.  All  were  silently  looking  at  their  watches. 
1  Time's  up,'  said  the  President.  '  Isow,  gentlemen,' 
he  went  on,  *  Mr.  Schmidtlapp  is,  by  his  own  admission, 
a  first-class  idiot,  and  I  think  you  will  agree,  after  1  have 
explained,  that  he  is  correct  in  his  estimation  of  himself. 
So,'  he  continued,  turning  to  the  chapfallen  Fred,  '  you 
don't  know  the  difference  between  a  piece  of  roast  beef 
and  a  fortification.  Well,  I'll  tell  you.  A  piece  of  roast 
beef  is  a  portion  of  the  flesh  of  the  ox  that  has  been  sub- 
jected to  the  action  of  heat  for  the  purpose  of  coagulat- 
ing the  albumen,  and  rendering  it  more  palatable  and 
digestible.  A  fortification  is  a  structure  built  of  stone 
or  earth,  or  both  combined,  placed  at  the  entrance  of 
a  harbor,  or  near  some  other  place,  to  be  defended  with 
men,  guns,  and  ammunition.  I'm  sorry  you  are  so 
ignorant,  Mr.  Schmidtlapp.' 

"  A  roar  of  laughter  followed,  and  poor  Fred  never 
opened  his  mouth  again  that  evening.  The  next  day  he 
called  at  the  White  House,  but  the  President  returned 
his  card,  with  an  indorsement  to  the  effect  that  he  rec- 
ommended Mr.  Schmidtlapp  to  go  to  the  lunatic  asylum 
over  the  river."  Again  every  one  laughed,  but  the  two 
irrepressibles  had  evidently  made  up  their  minds  to  play 
into  each  other's  hands  by  a  series  of  reciprocal  jokes. 
The  poet  Clodd  looked  the  picture  of  despair.  Old 
Mrs.  Willoughby  Bull  had  not  had  an  opportunity  to 
open  her  mouth  except  to  put  something  into  it,  and 
neither  Miss  Sorby  nor  Miss  Boggs  had  received  any 
special  attention.  Burton  was  well  enough  satisfied.  It 


MACHINATIONS.  349 

saved  him  the  necessity  of  exerting  himself  to  entertain 
any  one,  for  he  was  not  in  the  humor  for  the  effort.  It 
was  very  apparent,  however,  that  such  an  entire  absorp- 
tion of  the  attention  as  was  being  effected  by  the  witty 
and  musical  Schmidtlapps  could  not  go  on  all  the  even- 
ing without  causing  Miss  Billy's  dinner  party  to  result  in 
a  miserable  failure.  For  however  much  people  wish  to 
be  amused,  there  is  no  such  amusement  as  that  which 
the  two  irrepressibles  were  enjoying— that  of  hearing 
one's  self  talk  and  of  amusing  others.  The  oysters,  the 
soup,  the  fish,  had  come  and  gone,  and  still  the  brothers 
held  their  sway.  But  their  downfall  was  approaching. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A   TERRIBLE   WOMAN. 

THE  fates  had  decreed  that  Mrs.  Willoughby  Bull 
should  cause  it,  and  she  was  equal  to  the  duty  that  had 
been  imposed  upon  her.  Between  the  two  monopolists 
every  one  at  the  table  had  had  a  story  told  to  him  or  her 
except  Mrs.  Bull.  It  was  her  turn  next,  and  the  telling 
of  it  fell  to  "  Jakey,"  the  singer. 

The  last  half  dozen  anecdotes  had  fallen  rather  flat. 
The  brothers  had  made  the  sad  mistake,  which  many 
raconteurs  have  made  before  them,  of  telling  their  best 
stories  first ;  and  it  was  therefore  anticipated  that 
'*  Jakey"  would  not  even  produce  a  ripple  of  laughter 
as  the  result  of  his  next  venture.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
he  did  not.  After  calling  Mrs.  Bull's  attention  to  the 
circumstance  that  Fred  had  very  black  hair,  he  related 
a  long  anecdote  of  so  stupid  a  character  and  so  utterly 
without  point  that  not  a  face  expanded.  But  all  at  once 
a  series  of  cachinnations  broke  upon  their  ears.  Mrs. 
Willoughby  Bull  was  laughing  in  the  most  astonishing 
manner.  The  sounds  she  emitted  were  not  unlike  those 
produced  by  an  old  rooster  whose  larynx,  from  long 
usage,  has  become  roughened,  and  is  then  no  longer  com- 
petent to  emit  clear  notes  ;  and  yet,  between  each  crow, 
if  it  may  so  be  called,  and  though  her  face  was  as  red  as 
a  beet,  and  she  was  holding  her  sides  as  though  to  keep 
herself  from  falling  to  pieces,  she  was  making  strenuous 


A   TERRIBLE   WOMAN.  351 

efforts  to  speak,  which  were  so  far  successful  that,  by 
paying  close  attention,  a  connected  story  could  be  made 
out.  To  depict  by  words  the  sounds  that  represented 
her  mirth  would  be  impossible.  I  shall  be  obliged  to 
leave  spaces  for  them,  which  the  reader  can  fill  with  any 
exclamations,  such  as  "  cock-a-doodle-doo  !"  "  Ha  !  ha  ! 
ha  !"  "  Ho  !  ho  !  ho  !"  "  Hu  !  hu  !  hu  !"  that  he  or 
she  may  imagine  would  best  convey  an  idea  of  their 
extraordinary  character.  The  task  passes  my  ability. 

"  I  guess  I'll  die  right  now — "  said  and  laughed  the 
lady.  u  It's  a' most  killed  me —  So  funny  !  Jist  the 
funniest  thing — I  ever  heered  in — my  life.  Oh,  Lord  ! 
Will  somebody — slap — slap  me — on  the  back  ?' ' 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Bull,"  exclaimed  Miss  Billy,  rushing 
toward  the  convulsed  lady,  while  the  peals  continued, 
"  will  you  have  the  hartshorn  ?  Here,"  she  continued, 
taking  a  decanter  of  brandy  from  a  liqueur- stand  on  a 
table  near  by,  and  emptying  half  the  contents  on  a  nap- 
kin, which  she  held  to  her  guest's  nose — "  here,  smell 
this!" 

"  It's  no  use —  When  1  gits  one  o'  these— 'ere — 
spells — it's  bound  to  last — five  hours —  If  you'd  slap 
me — on  the  back — it  mought  do — some  good.  You  see, 
you — folks  has  bin — laughing  all— the  evenin',  and 
mine's — come  all  to  oust — " 

By  this  time  all  the  guests  had  risen,  and  were  either 
crowding  around  the  sufferer — for  such  she  seemed  to  be 
— or  standing  in  different  parts  of  the  room,  anxious 
though  helpless  spectators.  Burton  proposed  to  go  for  a 
doctor,  but  this  the  old  lady  would  not  hear  of. 

u  No  doctors  for — me,  thank  you —  Medicine  don't 
do  me  no  good —  Oh,  the  very  sight — of  'em — makes 
me  worse —  I  jist  think  they're  the  funniest  fellows— 


352  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

as  ever  I  see  in  my — life.  I'm  like — the  old  nigger — as 
was  kickin' — his  shins  agin  a  stump — till  they  was  bleed- 
in' — and  a  gentleman — as  seen  him — says — says  he, 
i  What  air  you  a-kick — in'  your  shins  for — you  darned 
old  fool  ?'  —  '  Well,  you  see,  mars '  — says  the  old  nig — ger, 
'  it — feels  so  good — when  I  leaves  off — '  Oh,  Lord" — 
and  all  the  rest  of  the  company,  except  the  two  brothers, 
laughed  loud  and  long  over  this  story — "  I  guess  you'll 
all  get  it  too— but  it  feels  so  good  now  as  they've  left 
off — that  I  guess — I'll  run  through — my  five  hours — 
especially — as  every  time  I  lays  eyes — on  'em,  I  gits  a 
fresh  turn —  Oh,  Lord — ' ' 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  Five  hours  !  She  was  too  fat 
and  heavy  to  be  carried  up-stairs  and  laid  on  a  bed,  and 
she  declared  that  any  attempt  to  move  her  always  made 
her  worse.  Miss  Billy  was  in  despair  ;  Miss  Fitzgerald, 
Miss  Sorby,  and  Miss  Boggs  were  trying  to  comfort  her  ; 
the  poet  sat  helpless  on  a  distant  chair,  running  his  hands 
through  his  long  hair  ;  Burton  had  tried  to  induce  the 
laughing  lady  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine,  but  she  declared 
it  always  made  her  worse.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 
Finally,  Miss  Billy,  leaving  Miss  Boggs  to  keep  up  the 
back-slapping  operation,  came  to  Burton — who  was  begin- 
ning, from  certain  signs  that  he  noticed,  to  fear  that  the 
other  ladies  would  become  similarly  affected — and  look- 
ing imploringly  at  him,  clasped  her  hands  together. 
"Oh,  Mr.  Burton,  what  shall  I  do?"  she  said,  while 
tears  started  to  her  eyes.  "Was  ever  anything  so  un- 
fortunate ?  Those  horrid  men  have  done  it  all ;  and  there 
they  stand,  looking  like — like — "  Here  Miss  Billy's  sobs 
overcame  her,  and  she  was  unable  to  find  a  simile  for  the 
two  factors  of  the  disturbance. 

Burton  really  pitied  her.     She  had  done  her  best  to 


A   TERRIBLE   WOMAN.  353 

entertain  her  guests,  and  now  disaster  had  overtaken  her. 
It  was  hard,  he  thought,  that  such  bad  luck  should  be- 
fall her,  and  he  racked  his  brain  for  an  idea  of  how  to 
extricate  her  from  the  trouble.  At  last  a  thought  struck 
him. 

"  Perhaps  if  the  two  gentlemen  were  to  leave  Mrs. 
Bull  would  become  quiet,  "jhe  said.  "  She  seems  to  be 
much  worse  every  time  she  sees  them." 

"  Oh,  yes  !"  she  exclaimed.  "  That'll  do  good,  I'm 
sure.  But  how  am  I  to  get  them  to  go  ?" 

"  If  you  will  authorize  me  to  act  for  you,  1  think  I 
can  manage  the  affair." 

"  Do  what  you  please,  Mr.  Burton.  I  knew  you 
could  help  me.  You  are  so  good  and  true  !" 

Burton  approached  the  now  disconsolate  Schmidtlapps, 
and  in  a  few  words  gave  them  his  ideas  of  the  situa- 
tion. Then  all  three  went  out  into  the  hall  together, 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  front  door  was  heard  to  close, 
and  Burton  returned  alone. 

"  They  are  gone,"  he  said  to  Miss  Billy,  as  she  took 
his  hand  and  pressed  it  warmly. 

"  Did  you  say  they  was  gone  ?"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Bull, 
suddenly  stopping  her  laughter,  and  sitting  up  in  her 
chair,  as  composed  as  though  she  had  just  taken  her  seat 
to  begin  dinner.  "  Now,  my  friends,  we'll  all  set  down 
and  go  on  with  the  meal.  I  never  knowed  it  to  fail  in 
gittin'  rid  of  a  bore,  nor  any  number  of  'em." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  did  it  on  purpose  ?" 
said  Miss  Billy,  while  every  one  else  looked  the  picture 
of  astonishment. 

"  In  course  I  do.  Every  bit  on  it.  What  sort  of  a 
time  would  we  'a'  had  ef  them  two  fellows  had  'a'  bin 
allowed  to  go  on  all  night  in  that  way  !  I  jist  made  up 


354  A   STBONO-MINDED   WOMAN. 

my  mind  to  stop  'em  right  off.  I've  tried  it  afore,  and 
it  always  does  it." 

"  Well,"  said  Burton  to  the  hostess,  who  was  not  yet 
able  to  speak,  so  completely  was  she  overcome  by  the 
remarkable  procedure  of  the  old  lady,  "  she  is  the  most 
accomplished  malingerer  1  ever  saw  in  my  life  !  But," 
he  continued,  "  we  owe  her  our  thanks.  Have  1  your 
permission,  Miss  Bremen,  to  say  a  word  to  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  ?" 

"  Anything  you  please,  Mr.  Burton.  Perhaps  things 
will  go  on  all  right  now.  After  all  my  trouble  and  all 
my  care  that  the  thing  should  go  on  nicely,  to  have  it 
spoilt  in  this  way  !  Oh,  I'll  never  get  over  it  !  Never  !" 

"  Yes,  you  will.  The  remedy  was  a  severe  one,  I 
admit,  but  it  was  not  so  bad  as  the  disease.  Ladies  and 
gentlemen,  by  the  kind  permission  of  our  gracious  host- 
ess, I  beg  that  you  will  fill  your  glasses  and  drink  to  the 
health  and  long  life  of  our  friend,  Mrs.  Willoughby 
Bull,  who  has  given  us  a  happy  issue  out  of  our  afflic- 
tions." 

"  I'm  much  obleeged,  ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said 
Mrs.  Bull,  rising  and  bowing  as  the  toast  was  drunk  ;  "  I 
never  knowed  it  to  fail.  They  tried  to  take  the  Bull  by 
the  horns,  but  they  got  gored.  Now,  we'll  go  on  with 
the  meal,  and  we'll  have  a  good  time  yet." 

And  they  did  have  a  good  time  in  the  estimation  of 
most  of  those  present.  The  elimination  of  the  two 
Schmidtlapps  allowed  the  conversation  not  only  to  be- 
come general,  but  general  in  so  subdued  a  way  that  dual 
conversation  was  not  impossible.  Miss  Billy  soon  recov- 
ered her  good  spirits,  and  began  to  believe  that  her  din- 
ner would  not  be  such  a  failure,  after  all.  She  continued 
her  special  attentions  to  Burton,  asked  his  opinion  of 


A   TERRIBLE  WOMAN.  355 

each  course  as  it  made  its  appearance,  and  of  each  guest 
present  at  the  table,  and  thanked  him  over  and  over 
again  for  his  services  in  ridding  her  of  the  troublesome 
wit  and  singer. 

"  I  never  met  them  but  once  before,"  she  said,  "  and 
then  only  for  a  few  minutes.  I  thought  they'd  add  to 
our  pleasure,  and  so  I  invited  them.  Mr.  Clodd  told 
me  just  now  that  they  are  notorious.  It's  a  part  of  their 
plan  to  do  all  the  talking  in  the  early  part  of  the  dinner 
and  to  begin  singing  after  the  dessert  comes,  and  to  keep 
that  up  till  the  last  person  leaves  the  house." 

"  Fortunately  we  were  spared  the  infliction  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  programme,''  said  Burton.  "  But 
what  an  extraordinary  old  lady  Mrs.  Bull  is  !  I  thought 
every  moment  she  would  have  a  fit.  Where  did  you 
find  her  ?" 

"  She's  a  widow,  and  was  an  old  friend  of  pa's.  She 
helped  to  make  him  rich,  and  so  I  feel  under  great  obli- 
gations to  her.  But  didn't  she  go  for  them  ?" 

"  She's  one  of  the  best  actresses  I  ever  saw.  Any 
physician  would  have  been  deceived  by  her." 

"  Yes,"  answered  Miss  Billy,  with  an  absent  air,  as 
though  she  was  thinking  of  something  very  different,  or 
was  contemplating  with  a  sad  heart  the  depravity  of  the 
average  man  or  woman.  "  Yes,  but  it  was  a  deception, 
Mr.  Burton,  and  falsehood,  whether  told  or  acted,  al- 
ways makes  me  feel  uncomfortable.  I'm  so  truthful 
myself  that  even  the  slightest  equivocation  or  semblance 
of  an  untruth  makes  me  feel  badly,  though  it  may  be 
spoken  or  acted  in  a  good  cause." 

"  You  are  indeed  sensitive,  Miss  Bremen,"  said  Bur- 
ton, not  quite  sure  whether  she  was  sincere  or  laughing 
at  him. 


356  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Yes,  for  a  long  time  1  couldn't  bear  to  go  to  the 
theatre,  for  I  knew  it  was  all  a  deception.  And  as  to  a 
magician's  tricks,  as  soon  as  I  found  out  that  they  were 
juggling,  and  therefore  misrepresentations,  they  were 
hateful  to  me.  But  ah,  Mr.  Burton,"  with  a  sigh  as 
though  her  heart  were  coming  out  of  her  breast  through 
her  mouth,  "  how  sad  it  is  to  think  that  as  we  rub 
against  the  world  so  many  of  the  sweet  sentiments  of 
our  nature  are  worn  off,  and  we  become  hardened  to 
tilings  which  once  shocked  us  beyond  measure  !" 

"  It  is  very  horrible,  Miss  Bremen,' '  said  Burton,  "  to 
think  that  the  freshness  and  ingenuousness  of  youth  must 
disappear  as  we  grow  older.  It  is  the  fate  of  us  all,  but 
you,  I  think,  have  suffered  less  in  that  respect  than  many 
of  the  rest  of  us." 

"  Do  you  think  so  ?  Oh,  I'm  so  anxious  to  gain  and 
keep  your  good  opinion  !" 

"  I  was  just  telling  Mr.  Clodd,  Miss  Bremen,"  called 
out  Miss  Boggs,  from  the  other  side  of  the  table,  "  that 
it  is  the  fashion  to  have  all  the  lights  on  the  dinner-table 
covered  with  red  shades,  and  that  red  should  be  the  pre- 
vailing tint  of  the  drawing-room  also.  He  asked  me 
whether  the  arrangements  to-night  were  according  to 
my  suggestion  or  your  own  idea." 

u  Oh,  of  course  you  told  him  it  was  your  notion. 
I've  been  so  little  in  society,  Mr.  Clodd,  that  I  must 
leave  all  the  ceremonies  and  the  aesthetics  to  my  friends, 
Miss  Boggs  and  Miss  Sorby,  who  are  very  kind  to  me." 

"  1  told  him,  Billy,"  rejoined  Miss  Boggs,  "  that  next 
month  you  are  going  to  give  a  ball,  and  that  Selina  and  1 
are  going  to  enclose  our  cards  with  the  invitations.  That 
will  at  once  introduce  you  to  the  ttite,  and  then  by  that 
time  you'll  be  out  of  the  odious  abattoir" 


A  TERRIBLE  WOMAN.  357 

"  What's  that  you  said,  miss,  about  the  odorous  abat- 
toir ?"  called  out  Mrs.  Bull.  "  Ef  thar's  any  bad  smells 
about  Billy's  place,  it's  her  own  fault,  I  guess.  Mine's 
as  sweet  as  a  dairy.  I  spent  more'n  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  last  year  for  carbolic  acid." 

"  I  didn't  say  '  odorous  ; '  I  said  '  odious,'  "  rejoined 
Miss  Boggs,  tossing  her  head,  and  looking  viciously  at 
the  old  lady. 

"  Oh,  you  said  odious  !  And  what,  1  should  like  to 
know,  young  lady,  makes  a  abattoir  any  more  odious 
than — than —  Well,  I  don't  know  what  your  father  does 
for  a  livin',  but  I  guess  it  ain't  such  a  blamed  sweet  thing 
that  you  kin  afford  to  run  over  other  people's  businesses. " 

Everybody  looked  aghast  at  this  onslaught  of  the  ex- 
tinguisher of  the  Schmidtlapps.  Was  she  trying  another 
way  of  getting  rid  of  people  she  did  not  fancy  ?  Miss 
Fitzgerald  turned  to  Burton. 

u  I  am  so  sorry  I  came.  I  arrived  here  only  a  few 
days  ago  from  Dublin,  with  letters  of  introduction  from 
a  very  distinguished  lady  to  the  l  United  Women  of 
America,-'  and  when  I  went  to  exhibit  my  credentials  I 
was  introduced  to  Miss  Bremen,  and  she  invited  me  to 
dinner.  But  surely  these  are  not  among  the  first  people 
of  the  city  !" 

"  If  by  first  people  you  mean  fashionable  people,  who 
have  plenty  of  money,  give  expensive  entertainments, 
and  are  seen  in  the  Park  in  elegant  equipages,  I  am 
afraid  some  of  them  would  be  entitled  to  be  so  consid- 
ered. But  they  are  not  even  average  specimens.  Miss 
Boggs  and  Miss  Sorby  are  certainly  admitted  into  what 
is  called  '  good  society,'  but  it  would  not  be  fair  to  con- 
sider them  as  representing  the  mass  of  those  with  whom 
they  associate.  The  truth  is,  that  there  is  no  standard, 


358  A   STRONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

and,  in  fact,  it  is  well  that  there  should  not  be.  It  is 
better,  after  all,  that  people  of  congenial  tastes  should 
mingle  together  to  the  exclusion  of  those  who  are  not  of 
congenial  tastes.  For  an  aristocracy  of  wealth,  and  of 
wealth  alone,  such  as  exists  here,  it  is  perfectly  right 
that  the  aristocracy  of  brains  should  be  excluded.  They 
don't  want  to  get  in.  If  they  did,  it  is  fair  to  suppose 
that,  with  their  superior  intelligence,  they  could  accom- 
plish their  object." 

"  That  is  certainly  a  new  way  of  regarding  the  subject. 
But  what  has  surprised  me  most  since  my  arrival  in  your 
country  is  the  servile  imitation  you  make  of  European, 
especially  English,  customs.  I  went  to  a  so-called  fox- 
hunt the  other  day,  and  I  nearly  died  laughing.  In 
fact,  I  was  almost  as  bad  as  our  friend  there  at  the  other 
end  of  the  table." 

"  Five  hundred  and  two  thousand,  two  hundred  and 
fifty- five  !"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Bull,  who  was  engaged  in 
earnest  conversation  with  Mr.  Clodd,  but  who  spoke 
these  words  in  a  voice  that  resounded  around  the  room, 
while  she  looked  about  the  table  with  an  air  of  -conscious 
superiority.  "  The  biggest  kill  of  hogs  in  the  world,  I 
guess.  It  may  be  an  '  odious '  business  to  some  people," 
she  continued,  casting  a  withering  look  at  Miss  Boggs, 
u  but  then  some  Eastern  people  gives  themselves  airs. 
Did  you  ever  see  a  hog,  young  lady  ?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  Miss  Boggs,  to  whom  this  question 
was  addressed,  and  making  a  profound  bow  as  she  spoke, 
"  I  have." 

"  Oh,  you  mean  you've  seen  me  !  Well,  I  like 
spunk  !  As  a  rule,  you  Easterners  ain't  got  it.  I  owe 
you  one,"  saying  which  she  went  on,  in  a  loud  tone,  with 
her  conversation  with  the  poet. 


r 


A  TERRIBLE   WOMAN.  359 

"  You  was  tellin'  me  jist  now  that  you'd  written  a 
pome  to  yourself." 

"  Yes,  madam,  I  apostrophized  myself." 

"  What  did  you  call  it  ?" 

"<I  am  but  a  Man.'" 

"  You  ought  to  'a'  called  it  '  Only  a  Clodd.  '  Ha  !  ha  ! 
ha  !  That's  only  a  joke.  No  offence  was  meant,  I  as- 
sure you.  That's  a  real  swell  down  at  the  other  end, 
ain't  it  ?"  she  whispered  to  the  poet.  "  He  said  he 
wa'n't  no  relation  to  a  man  1  knowed.  But  I  find  it's 
the  thing  here  in  the  East  to  disown  your  relations  ef 
they  warn't  more'n  honest  folks,  makin'  their  own  livin'. 
Billy,''  called  out  this  terrible  woman,  "  I  hear  you're 
going  to  give  a  fandango  when  you  goes  out  o'  business. 
Let  me  know  when  it's  to  come  off,  and  I'll  send  you  a 
bar'l  o'  hams." 

Miss  Billy  took  no  other  notice  of  this  offer  than  to 
bow  her  head  in  acknowledgment.  Her  mortification 
over  Mrs.  Bull  was  fast  reaching  the  point  it  had  attained 
from  the  brothers  Schmidtlapp,  and  bid  fair  to  pass  that 
mark.  She  saw  that  her  two  fashionable  friends,  Miss 
Sorby  and  Miss  Boggs,  were  sullen  and  indignant,  and 
that  while  the  rest  of  the  company  were  more  or  less 
amused,  there  would  be  a  greater  feeling  of  security  in 
the  bosom  of  every  one  present  if  Mrs.  Bull  could  be 
abated.  It  was  useless,  however,  to  expect  that  any- 
thing could  be  done.  The  probability  of  her  going  off 
in  a  fit  of  some  kind  was  scarcely  to  be  thought  of. 
Had  there  been  the  slightest  tendency  to  apoplexy,  cer- 
tainly the  volitional  convulsions  which  she  exhibited  in 
the  early  part  of  the  evening  would  have  produced  a  parox- 
ysm. No,  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  hurry  through 
with  the  dinner,  and  get  out  of  the  room  as  soon  as  possible. 


360  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Though  he  could  not  console  her  in  her  trouble,  Bur- 
ton could  honestly  praise  the  dinner,  and  his  commenda- 
tion almost  atoned  for  the  annoyance  Mrs.  Bull  was 
causing,  The  menu  was  excellent,  the  wines  were  good, 
and  were  of  the  proper  temperature,  and  were  served  in 
the  right  places.  For  all  these  things,  however,  Miss 
Billy  was  no  more  responsible  than  was  the  man  in  the 
moon,  though  she  was  perfectly  willing  to  take  all  the 
credit  to  herself,  and  she  bowed  and  giggled  over  Bur- 
ton's encomiums  as  though  she  really  had  done  some- 
thing more  than  pay  for  the  dinner. 

She  began  to  feel  that  she  was  making  good  headway 
with  Burton.  She  knew  that  he  would  be  a  difficult  fish 
to  hook,  and  a  still  more  difficult  one  to  land  ;  but  she 
thought  that,  even  if  he  had  not  nibbled  at  the  bait,  he 
had  eyed  it  with  a  half- formed  idea  that  he  might  nibble, 
and  from  nibbling  proceed,  by  easy  gradations,  to  swallow- 
ing. She  was  not  one  to  buoy  herself  with  false  hopes. 
She  had  had,  when  she  first  conceived  a  love  for  Burton, 
no  very  sanguine  expectations  that  she  would  ever  win 
him.  She  was  quite  sure  that  he  had  been  attracted  by 
Rachel  Meadows,  but  she  was  unaware  of  the  extent  to 
which  matters  had  gone  with  him  and  the  lady,  and  of 
course  entirely  ignorant  that  there  had  been  any  dis- 
agreement between  them.  She  had  noticed,  with  both 
surprise  and  delight,  that  the  extracts  from  Rachel's  lect- 
ure that  she  had  read  to  him  had  produced  a  strong  im- 
pression against  her  rival.  She  had  counted  on  nothing 
more  than  a  slight  objection  on  his  part,  which  might 
serve  as  the  basis  for  future  operations  ;  instead  of  which 
a  decided  feeling  of  disgust  had  evidently  been  excited. 

During  the  dinner,  although  the  general  effect  had 
been  most  unfortunate,  the  calamities  she  had  been 


A  TERRIBLE  WOMAN.  361 

forced  to  endure  had  roused  in  him  a  degree  of  sym- 
pathy for  her  which  was  very  apparent,  and  which  had 
caused  him  to  change  his  rather  distant  manner  to  one  of 
kindness,  almost  reaching  tenderness,  that  had  made  her 
little  heart  swell  with  joy.  She  knew  enough  of  human 
nature  to  be  aware  that  any  feeling  that  can  be  excited 
in  the  breast  of  another,  even  though  it  be  one  of  enmity, 
is  more  likely  to  lead  to  love  than  that  utter  indifference 
which  is  at  once  the  padlock  that  closes  the  heart,  and 
the  iceberg  that  contracts  it.  She  saw  that  the  indiffer- 
ence was  disappearing  ;  she  had  certainly  succeeded  in 
rousing  an  emotion  of  pity,  and  she  had  read  that  pity 
is  akin  to  love.  Still,  she  was  aware  that  with  Burton  it 
was  a  very  distant  relative,  and  that  she  had  a  great  deal 
to  do  yet  before  she  could  succeed  in  exciting  more  than 
a  transient  feeling,  born  of  the  circumstances  of  the  hour. 
Nevertheless,  so  far  it  was  good,  and  she  inwardly  re- 
joiced that,  though  her  dinner  might  be  hereafter  looked 
back  upon  by  all  the  rest  as  one  of  the  episodes  in  their 
lives  that  they  would  not  wish  repeated,  to  her  there  was 
a  prospect  of  its  being  the  starting-point  to  the  attainment 
of  the  supreme  object  of  her  existence. 

The  influence  of  Burton's  presence  was  also  noticed 
by  her  in  another  way.  She  had  been  in  love  with  him, 
according  to  her  light,  for  several  months,  during  which 
time  she  had  had  occasion  to  consult  him  on  the  Texan 
legal  matter — which  he  had  managed  so  successfully — and 
had  seen  him  from  afar  off  in  the  streets,  or  in  various 
public  places.  But  she  had  never  till  now  had  a  really 
good  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  him. 
Heretofore  in  all  their  personal  associations  he  had  held 
himself  aloof,  and  had  evidently  been  unwilling  that  any 
other  than  professional  relations  should  exist  between 
16 


362  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

them.  Now,  however,  she  had  clearly  been  admitted 
into  fellowship.  She  stood  nearer  to  the  plane  upon 
which  he  stood,  and  had  every  reason  to  expect  still 
further  advancement  in  his  affection,  if  she  might  call 
whatever  feeling  he  entertained  toward  her  by  that  name. 
Yes/ she  was  satisfied.  If  she  could  do  that  much  in 
one  day,  what  might  she  not  expect  to  accomplish  in 
time  ?  For  the  future,  during  a  considerable  period, 
owing  to  the  business  matter  she  had  placed  in  his  hands, 
there  would  be  many  occasions  for  meeting,  and  it  would 
argue  little,  she  thought,  for  her  tact  if  she  could  not 
manage  to  ingratiate  herself  into  his  good  graces.  When, 
therefore,  she  gave  the  signal,  as  Miss  Sorby  had  told  her 
she  was  to  do,  for  the  ladies  to  retire  into  the  drawing- 
room,  leaving  the  gentlemen  to  their  cigars,  she  felt,  not- 
withstanding all  the  contretemps  that  had  occurred,  that 
she  had  done  well ;  and  when  Burton  announced  to  her 
that  he  proposed  to  go  with  the  ladies,  she  experienced 
a  degree  of  elation  which  almost  made  her  feel  as  though 
she  could  fly.  For  why  should  he  go  into  the  drawing- 
room  if  not  for  the  purpose  of  being  with  her  ?  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  Burton  had  left  the  other  gentle- 
man— the  poet — to  smoke  his  cigar  in  solitude  for  the 
reasons  that  he  did  not  wish  to  be  bored  by  the  disquisi- 
tion on  the  ars  poetica  which  he  had  been  promised, 
and  that  he  desired  to  have  an  opportunity  for  a  five-min- 
utes' conversation  with  Miss  Fitzgerald,  who,  he  had  dis- 
covered, by  one  or  two  allusions  made  at  table,  was  an 
intimate  friend  of  several  years'  standing  of  Rachel 
Meadows,  whom  she  had  known  abroad.  But  in  this 
last  he  was  doomed  to  disappointment,  for  Miss  Billy 
kept  close  to  him,  and  Miss  Fitzgerald  took  her  leave 
soon  after  returning  to  the  drawing-room.  The  pros- 


A  TEKRIBLE  WOMAN.  363 

pect  was  therefore  rather  dreary,  for  he  was  the  only 
man  to  contend,  not  only  with  Miss  Billy,  but  with 
Mrs.  Willoughby  Bull  and  the  Misses  Sorby  and  Boggs. 
The  odds  were  so  much  against  him  that  he  also  would 
have  gone  home  but  for  the  fact  that  the  hostess  had 
invited  the  young  ladies  to  sing,  and  he  could  not  well 
go  till  their  performances  were  over.  After  they  had 
finished  Miss  Billy  was  importuned  to  favor  them,  and 
Burton  could  not,  of  course,  avoid  adding  his  solicitations 
to  those  of  the  others.  Then  she  consented,  remarking, 
as  he  led  her  to  the  piano,  that  it  was  only  to  oblige  him 
that  she  complied,  and  yet  that  it  was  fear  of  him  that 
had  caused  her  to  hold  back.  "  1  am  ever  so  anxious  to 
gratify  you,  Mr.  Burton,"  she  said,  with  a  lackadaisical 
air,  "  but  I  hear  you  are  a  very  severe  musical  critic,  and 
that  anything  short  of  the  highest  excellence  is  positively 
displeasing  to  you." 

"  Oh,  I  am  not  so  bad  as  that,"  said  Burton,  laugh- 
ing, and  yet  at  the  same  time  pleased  with  the  double 
compliment  she  had  paid  him.  "  There  are  other  ele- 
ments in  a  musical  performance,  especially  a  vocal  one, 
than  the  mere  notes  and  the  facility  of  uttering  them. 
A  song,  for  instance,  may  not  be  sung  with  absolute  per- 
fection of  technical  execution,  and  yet  there  may  be  so 
much  feeling  put  into  it  by  the  singer  as  to  make  it  a 
very  pleasing  performance." 

"  You  are  very  kind  to  make  allowances  for  me  before 
I  begin.  I  hope  1  shall  not  disappoint  you.  Here,"  she 
said,  handing  him  a  roll  of  music,  "  select  something  that 
you  would  like  me  to  sing." 

Burton  turned  over  the  leaves.  He  saw  that  all  the 
songs  were  arranged  for  a  contralto  voice.  It  was  his 
favorite,  as  it  is  of  most  men  of  sanguine  temperaments 


364  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  quick  feeling.  "  Yoi  che  sapete,"  from  Le  Nozze  di 
Figaro;  u  II  segreto,"  from  Lucrezia  Borgia;  "  Lei 
parlate  d'amor,"  from  Faust /  "  O  mio  Fernando," 
from  La  Favorita.  He  would  have  that.  If  she  could 
sing  that  song  as  it  ought  to  be  sung,  his  opinion  t)f  her 
would  be  exalted  far  above  the  point  at  which  it  now 
stood. 

"  You  have  chosen  one  of  my  favorites,"  said  Miss 
Billy,  as  he  placed  the  piece  on  the  rack.  "  I  will  try 
and  do  my  very  best,  for  I  want  to  please  you." 

He  smiled  encouragingly,  though  he  had  no  idea  that 
she  would  give  anything  more  than  a  school-girl  rendi- 
tion of  a  song  that  requires  not  only  great  technical  skill 
and  power,  but  also  a  degree  of  passional  activity  which 
he  did  not  believe  that  Miss  Billy  possessed.  She  had 
not,  however,  sung  ten  notes  before  his  anticipations  were 
disappointed  in  a  manner  which  astonished  while  it 
pleased  him  beyond  measure.  Her  voice  was  a  phenom- 
enal one  in  all  its  range  of  high,  middle,  and  low 
notes.  There  was  not  a  shade  of  falseness  in  any  one  of 
them,  and  they  seemed,  from  the  depth  of  passion  with 
which  they  were  enunciated,  to  come  from  the  very  bot- 
tom of  her  heart,  and  with  a  sweetness,  a  mellowness,  a 
fulness,  that  took  Burton's  mind  entirely  away  from  all 
the  commonplace  things  around  him,  and  caused  him  to 
lose  himself  in  a  revery  of  heavenly  rapture.  Was  it 
possible  that  a  woman  like  Miss  Billy,  coarse  and  vulgar 
as  she  was  by  nature,  and  whose  associations  had  been  in 
keeping  with  her  origin,  could  sing  like  that  ?  He  did 
not  think  it  possible.  He  did  not  believe  that  a  soulless 
woman  could  put  such  pathos  and  emotion  into  music  as 
did  she  who  was  now  singing.  He  had  underrated  her  ; 
she  had  capacity  ;  all  she  wanted  was  a  chance  to  de- 


A  TEEEIBLE  WOMAN.  365 

velop.  She  had  been  kept  back  by  her  ignoble  surround- 
ings, and  from  these  she  was  about  to  emerge  into  that 
higher  life  that  nature  intended  her  to  live.  His  eyes 
filled  with  tears — they  always  did  when  he  heard  certain 
kinds  of  music — and  when  Miss  Billy  finished  he  could, 
as  on  the  night  before  with  Rachel  Meadows,  only  stam- 
mer out  a  few  words  of  thanks. 

"  I  am  glad  you  like  it,"  she  said.  "  I  am  passion- 
ately fond  of  music  ;  and  now  that  I  see  that  I  am  able 
to  please  you  with  my  humble  efforts,  1  hope  you  will  not 
hesitate  to  call  me  often  into  your  service." 

"  You  are  a  siren,  Miss  Bremen.  If  you  were  seated 
on  a  rock  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean,  and  I  was  at  the 
helm,  and  you  should  sing  that  song,  I  would  steer  my 
bark  toward  you  if  I  were  sure  she  would  go  to  pieces 
the  next  minute." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Burton,"  cried  Miss  Billy,  in  an  ecstasy  of 
delight,  "I  am  so  glad!  But  then,"  she  added, 
demurely,  ' (  the  sirens  were  wicked  women,  were  they 
not,  who  lured  men  to  destruction  ?" 

"  And  you  lure  them  to  happiness.  No  one  who  can 
sing  like  you  can  possibly  be  wicked,  nor,"  he  added  to 
himself,  "  can  she  be  vulgar." 

Now,  of  course,  Burton,  in  enunciating  this  opinion, 
did  not  know  what  he  was  talking  about.  I  am  bound, 
however,  in  the  interest  of  truth,  to  expose  all  the  short- 
comings of  one  of  my  heroes — perhaps  the  principal — 
even  though  1  run  the  risk  of  making  him  ridiculous. 
One  of  the  great  faults  of  Burton's  character  was  his  im- 
pressibility and  his  disposition  to  form  opinions  from  in- 
sufficient data.  Moreover,  he  was  prone  to  think  that 
whatever  pleased  him  must  necessarily  be  good,  not  only 
of  its  kind,  but  in  exerting  an  influence  over  matters 


866  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

with  which  it  had  no  possible  connection.  The  fact, 
therefore,  that  Miss  Billy  had  a  vocal  apparatus  so  con- 
structed as  to  produce  a  particular  kind  of  a  voice  ;  that 
this  had  been  cultivated  by  competent  instructors,  and 
that  at  the  same  time  she  had  acquired  the  art  of  feeling 
what  she  sang,  and  of  manifesting  emotion  in  her  musical 
inflections,  was  sufficient  to  make  him  believe  that  he 
had  misjudged  her,  and  that,  after  all,  though  she  might 
be  deficient  in  some  of  the  elements  of  personal  beauty, 
there  might  be  a  loveliness  of  mind  and  heart  more  than 
sufficient  to  compensate  for  the  Jack  of  comeliness  of  face 
or  elegance  of  figure.  He  knew  that  some  actors  and 
actresses  when  off  the  stage  were  not  presentable  people, 
but  that  they  were  capable  of  assuming  parts  requiring 
the  exhibition  of  all  the  refinements  and  virtues  of  life. 
But  he  thought  this  was  impossible  where  music  was 
concerned.  He  did  not  know,  for  instance,  that  the 
beautiful  Signorina  Angela  Flangieri,  whose  lovely  con- 
tralto voice  and  whose  method  were  even  superior  to 
those  of  Miss  Billy,  and  who  delighted  the  opera-goers 
at  the  Academy  of  Music  with  her  matchless  rendition 
of  such  parts  as  Arsace,  Pierotto,  Orsini,  and  Leonora, 
ate  peas  with  her  knife,  picked  her  teeth  with  her  fork 
and  her  fingers,  drank  brandy,  kicked  off  the  hats  of  her 
male  friends  who  came  behind  the  curtain,  and  swore  at 
her  maid  with  all  that  fecundity  and  emphasis  and  ampli- 
fication in  maledictional  exercises  that  only  an  Italian  of 
the  lower  class  possesses. 

The  siren,  as  he  had  appropriately  called  her,  though 
only  with  reference  to  the  nobler  characteristics  of  her 
influence  over  him,  had,  however,  not  yet,  in  her  estima- 
tion, completed  her  work.  She  saw  now  clearly  that 
through  her  musical  powers  she  could  in  all  probability 


A  TERRIBLE  WOMAN.  367 

erelong  bring  the  Hon.  Tom  a  suppliant  at  her  feet,  and 
she  was  determined  to  let  him  see  that  in  singing  the  u  O 
mio  Fernando  !"  she  had  not  shown  the  whole  compass  of 
her  voice  or  emotion.  lie  was  perfectly  willing  to  stay 
by  her  side  as  long  as  she  would  sing.  He  was,  in  fact, 
an  enthusiast  where  music  was  concerned,  and  when  a 
small  boy  had  often  followed  the  organ-grinders  who 
came  to  Lutetia  not  only  all  around  the  streets  of  that 
town,  but  even  to  the  neighboring  villages.  So  that 
when  his  entertainer  offered  to  sing  again  if  he  would 
chose  what  he  would  like,  he  was  only  too  glad  of  the 
opportunity.  Instead  of  making  a  choice,  however,  he 
expressed  a  wish  to  hear  something  of  her  selection. 
She  looked  over  her  music  for  some  time,  thinking  what 
she  should  decide  upon  as  most  eligible  for  displaying 
her  low  notes,  as  well  as  for  moving  him  not  only  by  its 
music,  but  by  the  sentiments  expressed  by  its  words. 
Finally  she  made  choice  of  a  song  popular  several  years 
ago,  u  Oh,  cast  that  shadow  from  thy  brow,"  which 
had  a  very  touching  minor  passage,  pitched  in  so  low  a 
key  that  very  few  contraltos  could  sing  it.  The  song 
represents,  in  appropriate  words  and  sympathetic  music, 
the  distress  of  a  girl  who  finds  her  lover  in  a  state  of 
mental  depression,  for  which  she  very  naturally  thinks  her 
smiles  ought  to  be  an  adequate  antidote.  But  they  are 
not  sufficient,  and  not  even  the  "  wild  roses"  that  she  has 
placed  in  her  hair  exert  the  legitimate  influence  that 
wild  roses  are,  it  is  presumed,  supposed  to  exert  in  such 
cases.  Then  it  is  that  she  sings  in  the  touching  minor 
key,  and  in  notes  that  might  move  an  anchorite,  and  in 
allusions  to  the  inefficacy  of  the  wild  roses  aforesaid, 

"  But  you  have  breathed  their  fragrant  air 
As  some  cold  vapor  from  the  tomb." 


368  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

And  it  must  be  confessed  that  Miss  Billy  did  not  per- 
mit the  words  or  the  music  to  suffer  from  any  lack  of 
effort  on  her  part.  She  sang  them  magnificently  ;  and 
when  she  changed  at  their  end  to  the  major  key  and  the 
words, 

"  Nay,  speak  not  now  ;  it  mocks  my  heart ! 

How  can  hope  live  when  love  is  o'er? 
I  only  know  that  we  must  part ; 
I  feel  we  part  to  meet  no  more," 

Burton  felt  that  he  could  have  thrown  his  arms  around 
her,  and  have  sworn  that  never  would  he  be  absent  from 
her  five  minutes  so  long  as  he  might  live.  He  was  as  im- 
pressionable and  as  incapable  of  separating  the  ideal  from 
the  realistic  as  was  the  gentleman  from  Colorado  who 
visited  a  theatre  at  which  some  touching  drama  was  being 
acted.  A  young  and  pretty  woman  is  on  the  stage,  and 
she  laments  in  piteous  terms  and  with  streaming  eyes  the 
fact  that  she  is  on  her  way  back  to  her  home  of  destitution 
and  misery,  and  without  money  wherewith  to  get  a 
morsel  of  food.  The  Colorado  gentleman  is  touched  ; 
his  handkerchief  is  up  to  his  eyes,  his  strong,  burly  frame 
shakes  with  his  sobs.  Suddenly  he  rises  in  his  seat  and 
looks  around  at  the  audience.  "  I  am  a  poor  man,  gen- 
tlemen," he  exclaimed,  "  but,  by  Heaven  !  I'll  give  that 
woman  a  dollar  !" 

"  Of  course  I'm  making  a  fool  of  myself,  Miss 
Bremen,"  said  Burton  at  last,  "  but  1  saw  the  President 
of  the  United  States  cry  like  a  child  when  he  was  in 
Richmond,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  when  a  band  serenaded 
him  and  played  l  Home,  sweet  Home. '  I  did  the  same 
thing  last  night — but  not  so  bad  as  this  time — when  Miss 
Meadows  played  for  me,  arid — ' ' 


A  TERRIBLE  WOMAN.  369 

u  Did  Miss  Meadows  play  for  you  last  night  ?"  said 
Miss  Billy,  turning  pale. 

"  Yes  ;  but  she'll  never  do  so  again." 

This  was  satisfactory,  as  far  as  it  went,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  words  expressed  too  much  and  too  little,  and 
she  was  afraid  to  ask  for  an  explanation,  lest  the  discussion 
might  lead  to  something,  she  knew  not  what,  that  might 
lessen  the  antagonism  that  Burton  evidently  felt  against 
her  rival.  She  mastered  her  curiosity  in  that  direction, 
and  said  : 

"  Does  Miss  Meadows  sing  well  2" 

"  I  did  not  hear  her  sing,  but  she  plays  magnifi- 
cently." 

"  You  must  visit  her,  then  ?"  interrogatively. 

"  No  ;  I  have  never  visited  her.  1  met  her  at  dinner 
last  night  at  Mrs.  Moul trie's.'* 

"  Oh  !" 

"  They  are  old  friends  of  mine." 

"Oh  !" 

The  conversation  had  had  a  dampening  effect  upon 
Miss  Billy,  and  it  was  some  time  before  she  was  able  to 
recover  the  necessary  degree  of  equanimity  and  assurance 
for  continuing  her  attack.  Burton  noticed  that  she  was 
somewhat  subdued,  and  attributing  it  to  the  effect  of  her 
own  music,  was  glad  to  perceive,  as  he  thought,  that 
she  had  the  sensitiveness  which  he  had  hitherto  denied 
her. 

"  Shall  we  join  the  others  2"  she  said  at  last,  thinking 
that  she  had,  probably,  after  all,  better  desist  for  the  pres- 
ent and  let  the  ferment  that  she  had  put  into  his  heart  do 
its  work.  "  I  am  afraid  they  will  think  me  very  rude 
for  having  absented  myself  from  them  for  so  long." 

"  And  I  think,  if  you  will  kindly  dispense  with  my 


370  A  STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

company,  that  I  will  take  my  departure.  Miss  Bremen, 
I  must  thank  you  for  a  very  delightful  evening." 

"  Must  you  really  go  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  I  have  several  letters  to  answer  to-night." 

"  But  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  again 
very  soon  ?' ' 

"  Oh,  Miss  Bremen,  I  am  afraid  you  will  see  more  of 
me  than  you  will  like.  If  you  will  allow  me  to  come 
every  now  and  then  and  hear  you  sing,  life  will  be  more 
tolerable  than  it  now  is  !" 

"  Are  you,  then,  unhappy  ?"  she  said,  in  a  trembling 
voice,  and  with  eyes  cast  down,  as  though  to  hide  any 
tears  that  might  be  in  them. 

For  a  moment  the  Hon.  Tom  hesitated.  In  the  strict 
sense  of  the  word,  he  was  not  unhappy  ;  but  at  the  same 
time,  if  he  had  the  command  of  the  universe,  he  would 
order  things  somewhat  differently  from  the  way  they 
were  going  on  at  present,  so  far  as  he  was  concerned. 
But  he  never  said  what  he  did  not  believe  to  be  true, 
and,  therefore,  when  the  question  was  put  point  blank 
to  him,  he  was  obliged  to  answer  in  the  negative. 

"  I  can't  say  I'm  exactly  unhappy,  but  1  might  be 
happier.  There  are  degrees  of — ' ' 

u  Then  come  here  as  often  as  you  like,  and  let  me 
sing  for  you.  Perhaps  I  may  add  a  little  to  your  happi- 
ness. I  know  you  will  add  to  mine.  Must  you  really 
go  now?"  as  Burton  held  out  his  hand.  "  Will  you 
grant  me  a  favor,"  she  continued,  as  he  still  held  her 
hand  in  his — a  fat,  pudgy  hand,  with  stumpy  fingers 
loaded  with  diamond  and  ruby  rings — "  a  little  thing  for 
you  to  grant,  but  a  great  deal  for  me  to  receive  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  I  shall  only  be  too  happy." 

"  Then,  don't  call  me  Miss  Bremen  ;  call  me  Billy." 


A  TEREIBLE  WOMAN.  371 

For  an  instant  he  was  on  the  point  of  bursting  into  a 
hearty  laugh  at  the  absurd  words  and  at  the  utter  pros- 
tration of  soul  which  seemed  to  have  overtaken  his  host- 
ess, and  which  was  manifested  by  her  pathetic  voice 
and  cast-down  eyes.  Then  he  recollected  that  she  had 
done  her  best  to  please  him,  and  that  she  had  pleased 
him,  so  he  answered  her  with  that  honest  recklessness 
which  so  often  influenced  him. 

"  I  will  upon  one  condition"  (a  squeeze  of  the  hand 
encouraged  him),  "  and  that  is  that  you  will  call  me 
Tom." 

It  was  her  turn  now  to  be  overpowered,  or  at  least  to 
seem  to  be.  She  only  answered,  however,  by  another 
pressure  of  the  hand. 

Then  the  Hon.  Tom,  having  made  his  bows  to  the 
other  ladies,  and  said  a  few  words  expressive  of  the  in- 
tense satisfaction  he  had  derived  from  the  charming  din- 
ner and  still  more  charming  company,  turned  to  his  host- 
ess for  the  final  adieu. 

They  walked  together  to  the  door  leading  into  the 
hall.  With  one  hand  he  pushed  back  the  gaudily  em- 
broidered portieres,  while  he  held  the  other  out  to  her. 
"  Good-night,  Billy,"  he  said,  with  a  pleasant  smile  on 
his  face. 

"  Good-night,  Tom  !" 

He  started  and  dropped  her  hand  as  though  he  had 
been  shot.  Then  without  another  word  he  turned  and 
left  the  room. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

INVESTIGATION. 

IMMEDIATELY  on  liis  arrival  at  the  Planters'  House  in 
St.  Louis  Tyscovus  had  inquired  for  letters.  There  was 
but  one — the  only  one,  in  fact,  that  he  had  expected. 
He  recognized  the  handwriting  as  that  of  the  woman  he 
loved,  the  one  whom  in  all  the  world  he  regarded  as  the 
most  honest  and  the  most  true.  He  had  had  a  longer 
journey  from  Denver  than  was  usual  at  that  season  of  the 
year.  Several  "  washouts,"  the  results  of  severe  rain- 
storms, had  occurred,  and  the  train  had,  in  consequence, 
arrived  late  in  the  evening  instead  of  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, in  accordance  with  its  schedule  time.  lie  was  at 
once  shown  to  his  rooms,  and  after  he  had  gotten  rid  of 
the  dust  of  travel,  and  refreshed  himself  by  a  cold  bath, 
he  sat  down  before  the  soft-coal  fire  in  his  comfortable 
apartment  and  proceeded  to  make  himself  acquainted 
with  the  contents  of  his  letter. 

He  had  kept  it  in  sight  during  all  his  toilet  operations, 
speculating  upon  the  exact  nature  of  its  contents,  and 
looking  forward  with  eager  expectation  to  the  pleasure 
of  its  perusal.  It  is  said  that  the  anticipation  of  a  joy  is 
always  greater  than  the  reality.  Whether  this  be  so  or 
not,  a  joy  without  anticipation  is  only  half  felt.  There 
was  pleasure  to  him  in  the  surmises  he  formed  relative 
to  what  Lai  would  have  to  say  to  him,  and  then  he  knew 
that  he  should  enjoy  the  letter  all  the  more  when  he 


INVESTIGATION.  373 

could  read  it  without  the  disturbing  influences  of  water, 
towels,  brushes,  and  the  other  agencies  for  obtaining 
physical  comforts  which  a  long  railway  journey  render 
indispensable. 

No  one  seeing  John  Tyscovus  among  a  hundred  other 
men  would  have  failed  to  note  him  as  a  remarkable-look- 
ing man.  He  was  not,  perhaps,  what  would  be  called 
handsome,  according  to  the  standard  of  the  Apollo  Bel- 
videre.  His  face  was  thin,  his  forehead  high,  his  nose 
prominent,  his  mouth  rather  larger  than  was  in  strict  ac- 
cordance with  the  canons  of  beauty,  but  his  eyes  were 
large  and  wonderfully  expressive  of  intelligence  and  of 
kindness  of  heart  ;  the  outlines  of  his  lips  were  grace- 
ful, his  teeth  perfect,  and  his  countenance  as  a  whole 
evidently  that  of  a  man  of  large  and  liberal  ideas,  to 
whom  all  littlenesses  and  meannesses  were  abominations, 
and  who  at  the  same  time  was  possessed  of  a  spirit  of 
independence  and  of  determination  before  which  ob- 
stacles that  stood  in  his  way  would  very  probably  go 
down,  if  courage  and  honesty  of  purpose  went  for  any- 
thing in  the  contest.  Two  years'  residence  in  Colorado, 
during  which  his  existence  had  by  no  means  been  that  of 
the  palace  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed  in  his  native 
land,  had  done  much  to  strengthen  a  naturally  strong 
constitution.  He  was  fully  six  feet  in  height,  but  was 
as  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  every  movement  that  he 
made  showed  that  there  was  no  element  of  physical  weak- 
ness in  his  organization.  He  had  ordered  his  dinner  to 
be  served  in  his  apartment,  and  while  it  was  being  got 
ready  he  intended  to  read  his  letter  and  indulge  in  that 
most  pleasing  of  all  occupations,  castle-building,  with  a 
firm  basis  of  present  and  prospective  happiness  for  the 
ideal  superstructure  to  rest  upon. 


374  A  STRONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

He  lield  the  letter  in  his  hand,  reading  the  direction 
over  and  over  again,  anxious  to  get  at  the  contents,  yet 
not  willing  to  lose  a  moment  of  the  sweet  anticipation 
which  he  knew  must  soon  yield  to  the  stronger  feeling. 
Finally  he  opened  it.  There  were  two  sheets — a  long 
letter  !  How  good  of  her  !  He  unfolded  the  first  that 
came  to  his  hand.  It  was  not  in  her  handwriting,  but 
it  was  welcome,  and  it  gave  him  good  news,  and  referred 
him  to  the  other  for  what  to  him  was  sweeter  and  dearer. 
Well,  it  was  not  so  long,  then,  as  he  had  thought ;  but 
doubtless  what  it  lacked  in  length  it  would  make  up  in 
love,  and  what  could  be  better  than  that  ?  He  unfolded 
it,  and  began  to  read.  But  surely  this  was  not  from  his 
Lai.  It  was  not  in  her  style  ;  there  were  none  of  her 
freshness  and  originality  and  love  about  it ;  it  was  strained 
in  its  expressions,  and  it  told  him  that  she  did  not  love 
him.  What  could  it  mean  ?  It  was  evidently  written 
by  her,  but  she  was  not  in  it.  Not  one  gleam  of  his  own 
brave,  loving,  true-hearted  Lai,  his  "  Prairie  Rose," 
could  he  find  in  all  its  words  and  sentences  and  carefully 
turned  phrases. 

It  was  impossible  for  him  to  realize  that  this  cold,  cruel 
letter  had  come  from  the  girl  whose  glances  of  love  had 
flashed  upon  him  in  his  cabin  on  the  butte,  who  had 
fallen  into  his  extended  arms  on  that  dreadful  night 
when  she  had  sought  a  refuge  from  her  pursuers,  who 
had  plighted  her  faith  to  him  at  Chetolah,  and  whose 
passionate  kisses,  when  she  had  last  parted  from  him,  were 
even  yet  warm  in  his  heart  !  No,  it  was  impossible  !  If 
she  had  written  that  letter,  great  God  !  whom  could  he 
trust  ?  In  what  man  or  woman  in  all  the  world  could  he 
put  his  faith  if  she  were  false  ? 

He  laid  the  letter  on  the  table,  and  rising  from  his 


INVESTIGATION.  375 

chair,  paced  the  room,  his  head  bent  upon  his  chest,  his 
hands  clasped  behind  his  back.  The  servants  entered 
with  his  dinner,  but  he  heeded  them  not.  One  of  them 
approached  him  and  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that 
it  was  on  the  table,  and  was  getting  cold.  He  made  some 
sign  with  his  hand  which  the  man  interpreted  into  a  de- 
sire to  get  rid  of  him,  so  he  left  the  room,  and  Tyscovus 
was  again  alone. 

And  this,  he  thought,  was  the  end,  after  all  his  love 
and  hope  !  At  one  fell  swoop,  by  a  touch  of  the  pen, 
his  happiness  had  been  destroyed,  and  by  the  one  in 
whom  he  had  trusted,  and  who  he  would  have  sworn, 
as  she  had  sworn,  would  be  faithful  through  all  the 
temptations  to  which  she  might  be  subjected.  Doubt- 
less some  other  man  had  gained  her  affections.  Well, 
he  might  have  expected  that.  She  was,  as  she  said  in 
this  letter,  young  and  inexperienced  in  the  ways  of  the 
world.  She  had  not  known  her  own  heart.  She  had 
thought  she  loved  him  ;  she  was  honest  enough,  was 
honest  now.  Yes,  if  she  had  changed,  it  was  right  for 
her  to  tell  him  so  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  But 
the  change  must  have  been  a  sudden  one,  for  only  a 
week  before  she  had  written  him  a  letter  full  of  the 
sweetest  words  the  language  contained  ;  and  this  was  his 
dismissal  !  It  was  difficult  for  him  to  understand.  No, 
he  could  not  understand. 

He  took  the  letter  and  read  it  over  very  slowly  and 
deliberately,  weighing  each  word,  as  though  his  life  de- 
pended on  the  interpretation  it  received,  and  trying  to 
find  some  evidence  that  would  shake  his  belief  in  its 
authenticity.  The  handwriting  was  certainly  hers.  Still, 
it  would  not  do  for  any  doubt  to  exist  on  this  point, 
so  he  opened  a  trunk  and  took  from  it  another  letter 


376  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

from  her  dated  just  a  week  before  this  one.  He  laid  the 
two  on  the  table  side  by  side,  and  compared  several 
words  that  occurred  in  both  letters  with  each  other. 
Yes,  there  was  no  doubt  that  both  were  written  by  her. 
The  words  ulove,"  "  suffered,"  "  ignorant,"  for  in- 
stance, as  well  as  many  others,  were  formed  in  exactly 
the  same  way  in  each,  and  then  the  general  resemblance 
was  a  still  more  decisive  piece  of  evidence. 

Then  the  date  was  what  it  ought  to  have  been  to  ac- 
cord with  the  post-mark,  "  New  York,  Nov.  17th,  10 
A.M."  True,  she  had  never  addressed  him  before  as 
"  Dear  John."  She  had  always  used  a  warmer  designa- 
tion than  that ;  but  then  the  change  was  entirely  consis- 
tent with  the  alteration  in  her  feeling  from  love  to  friend- 
ship, that  she  declared  had  taken  place. 

Never  before  had  she  signed  her  name  by  the  initial 
letter  only.  It  had  always  been  ' l  Lai, "  "  Your  own 
Lai."  But  this  change  was  also  to  be  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  she  did  not  regard  herself  any  longer  as 
being  his  Lai,  but  only  his  friend. 

But  there  were  two  facts  that  were  directly  opposed  to 
the  letter  being  her  composition.  The  style  was  not  like 
hers.  It  was  more  finished,  and  lacked  the  ruggedness 
and  conciseness  of  her  diction  ;  and  then  a  still  more  im- 
portant point,  it  was  orthographically  correct  as  regarded 
every  word.  Lai  made  many  errors  in  spelling.  It  was 
not  to  be  expected  that,  even  after  the  most  careful 
study,  she  should  be  able  at  the  end  of  two  years  to  do  what 
most  people  do  not  succeed  in  accomplishing  after  many 
years  of  attention.  Again,  he  compared  the  two  letters, 
and  he  discovered  a  systematic  deviation  from  correct- 
ness that  at  once  excited  special  interest.  In  order  to 
have  the  matter  more  directly  before  him,  he  took  a 


INVESTIGATION.  377 

sheet  of  paper,  and  made  lists  of  all  tliose  words  in  both 
the  letters  before  him  which  were  spelt  differently. 
These  he  arranged  in  two  columns  as  follows  : 

Letter  of  November  Sth.  Letter  of  November  \§th. 

Reccolection.  Recollection. 

Paine.  Pain. 

Admitt.     •  Admit. 

Leving.  Leaving. 

Grattitude.  Gratitude. 

Annother.  Another. 

Remmember.  Remember. 

Allways.  Always. 

These  differences  were  to  his  mind  utterly  inexplain- 
able,  upon  the  hypothesis  that  one  person  had  written 
both  letters.  That  Lai  in  one  week  could  have  acquired 
the  knowledge  and  readiness  of  expression  requisite  for 
the  change  he  did  not  believe.  To  make  the  matter  still 
more  certain,  he  got  other  letters  of  hers,  and  found  that 
several  words  occurred  in  them  which  were  in  the  letter 
of  November  9th  and  in  that  of  November  16th,  and 
that  they  were  spelled  exactly  as  in  the  first  named. 

A  fraud  was  always  possible.  He  did  not  see  how  one 
could  have  been  perpetrated  here  ;  but  that  there  might 
have  been  one  was  quite  certain.  The  composition  of 
the  letter,  its  reference  to  events  that  had  taken  place — 
all  seemed  to  indicate  Lai  as  the  author.  The  handwriting 
showed  indubitably  that  she  had  written  it.  The  forgery 
of  a  name  so  perfectly  that  not  even  the  person  whose 
signature  was  imitated  could  detect  the  imposture  was 
likely  enough  ;  but  the  counterfeiting  of  a  person's  hand- 
writing so  as  to  deceive  one  perfectly  familiar  with  the 


378  A   STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

real  writing  was  to  him  almost  an  impossibility,  except, 
perhaps,  after  years  of  practice  in  the  perpetrator,  and  an 
impossibility  of  making  comparisons  with  undoubted 
specimens  of  the  real  chirography.  In  this  view  he  took 
new  hope,  that,  after  all,  there  might  be  something 
that  he  did  not  understand — something  that  would  absolve 
his  darling  from  the  guilt  of  the  lie  that  this  letter  told. 
For  she  had  loved  him  ;  that  he  knew  ;  and  her  love 
had  continued  all  through  the  year  of  their  separation  to 
this  time.  She  could  not  have  mistaken  her  heart,  and 
if  she  said  that  what  she  thought  was  love  was  only  friend- 
ship, then  she  was  false. 

Now,  what  was  to  be  done  ?  Tyscovus  was  a  man 
of  action.  His  brain  worked  quickly,  his  mental  proc- 
esses were  rapid  and  accurate,  and  then  he  did  promptly 
what  he  had  determined  to  do.  Still,  the  subject  before 
him  required  a  certain  amount  of  deliberation.  His  first 
impulse  was  to  send  a  telegram  to  Lai,  asking  her  if  she 
had  written  the  letter  of  the  16th  of  November,  and  if  it 
expressed  her  real  feelings.  Then  he  reflected  that  there 
could  be  no  certainty  that  the  words  "  letter  of  the 
16th"  would  convey  the  same  idea  to  her  mind  that  it 
did  to  his.  For  instance,  she  might  have  written  another 
letter  of  the  16th,  which  she  had  intended  to  send  him, 
but  which  had,  by  some  accident,  been  replaced  by  this, 
which  she  had  never  meant  to  send.  It  would  be  better, 
therefore,  to  telegraph  to  her  father,  acknowledging  the 
receipt  of  the  letter,  and  intimating  that,  as  at  present 
advised,  he  would  not  go  to  New  York.  This  would  lead 
to  inquiries,  and  such  explanation  as  might  be  necessary 
would  then  be  made.  He  at  once,  then,  sent  the  telegram 
which  was  received  on  the  evening  that  Burton  and 
Rachel  Meadows  dined  with  the  Moultries,  which,  as 


INVESTIGATION.  379 

the  reader  will  recollect,  was  the  day  on  which  Theodora 
had  given  her  lecture  at  the  "  Martha  Washington  Medi- 
cal College  for  Women." 

But  he  had  no  sooner  despatched  this  telegram  than  a 
servant  came  to  his  rooms  with  another  letter,  which  had 
just  that  moment  been  delivered.  He  took  it  eagerly. 
It  was  post-marked  New  York,  though  the  superscrip- 
tion was  not  in  Lai's  handwriting  ;  neither  was  it  one  with 
which  he  was  acquainted.  He  tore  open  the  envelope, 
and  turning  over  the  page,  read  the  signature  "  Julia 
Sincote."  Then  he  read  the  letter.  Whatever  hope  he 
had  entertained  was  now  altogether  dissipated.  Lai  was 
false  beyond  a  doubt.  The  letter  of  the  16th  was  a  real 
letter,  the  writing  of  which  was  known  to  the  family,  as 
were  also  the  reasons  why  she  had  written  it.  Yes,  even 
the  exact  characteristic  was  known  ;  for  here  it  was 
spoken  of  as  a  "  cruel"  letter,  and  it  was  cruel. 

Evidently  the  letter  of  the  16th  was  genuine  ;  it  had 
been  discussed  by  the  family,  and  had  apparently  been 
agreed  to  by  all  but  Mrs.  Sincote.  Moultrie  and  his  wife 
had,  then,  also  deserted  him  !  Some  one  else  had  taken 
his  place — some  one  considered  more  eligible  as  a  matri- 
monial prize  for  the  rich  and  fashionable  Miss  Lalage 
Moultrie. 

The  good- will  of  the  aunt  was,  however,  clearly  mani- 
fested in  her  letter.  She  at  least  was  his  friend,  and  it 
would  be  some  satisfaction  to  hear  how  the  change  that 
Lai  had  undergone  had  been  brought  about.  Her  letter 
of  the  16th  was  now  quite  intelligible.  The  incongrui- 
ties that  he  had  thought  existed  were  reconciled.  Some 
one — her  mother  perhaps — had  written  the  letter,  and  Lai 
had  copied  and  adopted  it.  That  hypothesis  explained 
everything,  even  the  good  spelling. 


380  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

He  then  sent  his  telegram  to  Julia  Sincote,  and  tried 
to  eat  a  few  mouthfuls  of  the  dinner,  now  cold,  that  still 
stood  on  the  table.  This,  however,  was  hard  work.  He 
had  no  appetite,  and  the  food  semed  to  stick  in  his 
throat.  His  head  was  hot  and  full,  so  he  went  out  for  a 
walk,  hoping  that  the  cool  night  air — for  it  was  now 
midnight — might  refresh  him. 

He  walked  through  street  after  street  in  the  quietest 
parts  of  the  city  ;  but  at  that  hour  he  was  not  very  likely 
to  encounter  many  people,  no  matter  where  he  went.  In 
all  his  life  he  had  never  had  anything  to  shake  his  faith 
in  humanity  like  this — nothing  to  cause  him  a  tithe  of 
the  wretchedness  that  this  caused  him.  What  was  life 
to  him  now,  when  more  than  half  his  life  was  gone  ? 
The  rest  was  nothing.  It  might  as  well  go  too.  The 
sooner  the  better.  On  he  went,  faster  and  faster,  strid- 
ing over  the  pavements  as  though  walking  for  a  wager, 
and  then  he  found  himself  by  the  mighty  river  upon  the 
banks  of  which  the  city  is  built.  Immediately  in  front 
of  him  was  the  entrance  to  the  great  bridge.  Half 
mechanically,  not  caring  where  he  went,  only  so  that  he 
was  in  motion,  he  crossed  the  street  and  went  out  on  the 
huge  structure.  Every  now  and  then  a  vehicle  passed 
him — a  market  wagon  going  into  the  city,  or  a  carriage 
containing  a  boisterous  party  that  had  been  revelling  on 
the  other  side,  and  was  now  returning  in  a  half -intoxicated 
condition.  It  was  a  long  walk  before  he  reached  that 
part  of  the  bridge  that  was  over  the  water,  and  then  he 
went  on  till  he  was  at  about  the  centre  of  the  middle 
span.  He  looked  over  the  railing  into  the  turbid,  seeth- 
ing, bubbling  waters  below,  and  he  thought  how  easy  it 
would  be  to  leap  into  their  flood  and  end  at  once  all  the 
heart-ache,  all  the  bitterness,  all  the  despair  that  crushed 


INVESTIGATION.  381 

liis  very  soul,  and  made  him  feel  that  there  were  worse 
things  in  the  world  than  death. 

But  he  was  not  the  man  to  fly  like  a  coward  from  the 
misfortunes  to  which  he  might  be  subjected,  by  jumping 
into  a  river  or  seeking  death  after  any  other  method. 
He  was  a  brave  man,  full  of  both  physical  and  moral 
courage,  and  urged  always  by  a  stern  sense  of  what  he 
deemed  right.  He  had  suffered  before  this  in  mind  and 
body.  He  had,  among  other  frowns  of  fortune,  been 
imprisoned  in  Siberia,  and  had  endured  without  failing 
in  spirit  all  the  hardships  and  indignities  that  a  cruel  and 
tyrannical  government  could  inflict.  He  had  never  yet 
succumbed  before  any  tribulation  that  had  come  upon 
him,  and  he  had  passed  unscathed,  in  his  lofty  sense  of 
self-respect,  through  every  ordeal  to  which  he  had  been 
submitted.  True,  this  was  the  worst  of  all.  Not  even 
the  snowy  wastes  of  a  Siberian  penal  colony,  the  rigors 
of  a  prison  life,  the  blows,  the  stripes,  the  hard -tasks, 
the  degradation  of  body  and  soul,  had  equalled  this.  All 
those  had  come  from  enemies,  but  this  had  been  dealt  by 
the  woman  he  loved  and  who  had  sworn  to  love  him  in 
return — the  one  that  he  had  succored  and  nursed  and 
sheltered  when  things  were  going  hardly  with  her,  and 
he  was  the  one  person  in  all  the  world  that  she  could  call 
her  friend.  Great  God  !  was  it  possible  that  she  was 
false  ? 

He  sat  down  on  one  of  the  benches,  and  though  the 
night  was  cold,  he  felt  great  beads  of  perspiration  start- 
ing out  on  his  forehead.  The  full  pale  moon  was  sail- 
ing overhead  in  a  cloudless  sky.  It  was  just  such  a  night 
as  that  on  which  she,  his  Lai,  had  staggered  up  the 
butte,  her  trembling  limbs  scarcely  able  to  sustain  her 
another  foot  of  the  way,  and  when  she  had  found  a 


382  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

refuge  from  all  her  woes  in  his  arms,  and  now—  "  No  !" 
he  exclaimed  aloud.  "  Never  !  She  is  not  false  !  I'll 
not  believe  it !  Not  though  all  the  world  should  say  it, 
unless  it  comes  to  me  from  her  own  lips,  spoken  to  me 
when  I  am  face  to  face  with  her  !  Not  till  I  see  them 
move,  not  till  I  hear  the  words  !  Never  !  so  help  me 
God  of  heaven  !  I  do  not  believe  she  is  false  !"  He 
started  to  his  feet,  animated  by  a  new  feeling  that  filled 
his  whole  being  and  urged  him  on  with  a  force  before 
which  nothing  antagonistic  could  have  stood.  He  re- 
traced his  steps  over  the  bridge,  and  then  walked,  almost 
ran,  through  the  streets  till  he  reached  the  hotel. 

There  was  no  one  about  but  a  sleepy-looking  watch- 
man, sitting  on  one  of  the  benches  in  the  hall,  and  a  still 
more  sleepy-looking  clerk  in  the  office. 

"  When  does  the  next  train  go  to  New  York  ?"  he 
inquired  of  that  official. 

The  man  looked  at  the  dial  behind  him.  It  was  two 
o'clock. 

u  The  next  train  leaves  at  four.  In  two  hours,"  he 
answered. 

u  Call  me,  please,  at  half -past  three.  I  am  going  on 
that  train." 

Then  he  went  to  his  room,  and  without  undressing 
threw  himself  on  the  outside  of  the  bed,  and  in  five 
minutes  was  sound  asleep.  But  how  long  he  slept  he 
was  never  able  to  determine  with  exactness,  but  probably 
not  longer  than  ten  minutes.  He  had  neglected  to  look 
at  his  watch  just  before  lying  down,  but  it  was,  as  near 
as  he  could  determine  from  a  consideration  of  the  fact 
that  it  was  exactly  two  when  the  clerk  looked  at  the 
clock,  about  ten  minutes  past  that  hour.  But  he  was 
awakened  by  a  strong  impression  that  something  had 


INVESTIGATION.  383 

happened  to  him  that,  for  the  moment,  he  did  not  un- 
derstand ;  and  then  all  at  once  the  truth  in  regard  to 
the  origin  of  the  letter  flashed  upon  his  mind.  He  knew 
it  word  for  word  ;  he  knew  where  it  came  from  ;  it  was 
all  as  clear  to  him  as  day.  He  lay  in  bed  for  several 
minutes,  repeating  it  over  aloud  to  himself,  and  imagining 
by  what  accident  Lai  had  put  it  into  the  envelope  instead 
of  the  letter  she  had  intended  to  send,  and  how  the  date 
1574  had  been  changed  to  1874.  Then  he  got  up,  lit  the 
gas,  and  examined  the  letter  closely.  There  was  no 
doubt  that  the  figure  5  had  been  altered  into  an  8.  The 
stroke  of  the  pen  making  the  change  was  different  from 
that  which  had  formed  the  original  figure,  and  a  part  of 
the  little  transverse  line  at  the  top  of  the  5  was  still  to 
be  seen. 

He  looked  at  his  watch.  It  was  just  half -past  two,  and 
only  about  twenty  minutes  had  elapsed  since  he  had  lain 
down.  It  was  very  evident  that  during  his  sleep,  and 
when  the  brain  was  relieved  from  the  many  points  with 
which,  while  awake,  it  had  been  engaged,  it  had  quietly 
solved  the  mystery  of  the  letter.  He  lay  down  again, 
perfectly  satisfied  that  all  the  essential  circumstances 
connected  with  the  letter — all,  at  least,  that  bore  upon 
his  darling  and  her  truth  and  constancy  had  been  ex- 
plained. How  the  letter  had  gotten  into  the  envelope 
was  nothing  to  him  now.  Whether  by  accident  or  by 
treachery  mattered  not.  That  it  was  not  hers  was  all  he 
cared  to  know. 

He  slept  soundly  till  he  was  called  at  half-past  three, 
and  at  four  o'clock,  after  a  hurried  breakfast,  he  was  on 
the  train  for  New  York.  Before  Moultrie's  telegram 
reached  St.  Louis,  he  was  two  hundred  miles  on  his 
way. 


384  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

There  was  ample  time  for  reflection  while  on  the 
train,  and  the  more  he  thought  of  the  matter,  the  more 
he  was  convinced  that  the  explanation  he  had  arrived  at 
was  the  correct  one.  The  letter  was  entirely  clear  to  his 
mind.  He  had  read  it  a  hundred  times  or  more.  He 
knew  it  by  heart,  as  he  did  nearly  every  page  of  the 
little  vellum-bound  book  which  appeared  to  be  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  his  fate.  And  the  whole  story  of 
the  perfidious  aunt  and  the  Countess  Louise,  whose  initial 
was  at  the  end  of  the  letter,  was  as  familiar  to  him  as 
any  incident  in  his  own  life.  It  seemed  strange  to  him 
now  that  he  had  not  at  once  recalled  it ;  but  he  supposed 
his  failure  to  do  so  was  due  to  the  fatigue  of  travel  and 
the  suddenness  with  which  the  circumstance  had  been 
forced  upon  his  mind.  He  had  not  been  able,  in  fact, 
to  gather  his  wits  together.  He  was  like  a  person  who, 
when  suddenly  asked  a  question  in  regard  to  a  perfectly 
familiar  matter,  is  unable  to  give  an  off-hand  answer, 
and  blunders  or  stammers  in  the  attempt  to  do  so,  be- 
coming more  and  more  confused  every  moment. 

Then  his  mind  had  been  running  in  quite  a  different 
direction  relative  to  the  contents  of  the  letter.  He  had 
anticipated  something  altogether  different,  and  hence  his 
brain  was  taken  unawares,  and,  being  in  a  more  or  less 
exhausted  state  from  the  general  bodily  fatigue,  was  not 
in  a  fit  condition  to  exercise  all  its  powers,  especially 
that  of  memory,  which  is  generally  the  first  under  such 
circumstances  to  exhibit  weakness. 

But  with  the  first  few  minutes  of  sleep  a  different 
state  of  affairs  ensued.  He  knew  that  in  many  positions 
in  which  he  had  been  placed  he  had  experienced  the 
most  efficient  brain-rest  from  sleep  of  even  less  duration 
than  that  which  he  had  taken  ;  and,  then,  as  had  often 


INVESTIGATION.  385 

happened  to  him  before,  lie  had  awakened  with  the 
whole  subject  as  fresh  before  him  as  though  he  had  just 
read  the  letter  from  the  book  in  which  it  was  printed. 

He  had  a  compartment  in  the  Pullman  car  all  to  him- 
self, so  he  took  out  of  his  pocket  Mrs.  Sincote's  letter, 
and  began  to  read  it  over.  He  had  not  previously  given 
much  attention  to  its  study,  but  now  he  read  it  with  the 
view  of  sifting  it  thoroughly,  and,  if  possible,  to  discover 
its  real  object. 

One  point  he  settled  at  once,  and  it  was  one  that  any- 
body with  ordinary  common-sense  would  have  deter- 
mined in  the  same  way  that  he  did.  If  Lai  was  the  victim 
of  an  accident  or  of  treachery,  then  this  letter  of  Mrs. 
Sincote's  was  written  with  the  intention  of  deceiving 
him  ;  for  it  assumed  that  the  letter  of  the  16th  was  a 
genuine  one,  and  written  by  Lai  because  she  had  ceased 
to  love  him.  From  this  dilemma  there  was  no  escape. 
If  Lai  was  still  true  to  him,  Mrs.  Sincote  was  a  traitress. 
It  was  she  who  was  false,  and  her  letter  had  been  written 
with  the  intention  of  heightening  the  effect  which  she 
knew  the  false  letter  could  not  fail  to  produce.  He  read 
it  over,  therefore,  with  the  intention  of  studying  its 
motives  so  far  as  they  could  be  determined  from  the 
words  written,  and  now,  with  the  light  he  had  received 
relative  to  the  false  letter  of  the  16th,  the  conclusion 
was  irresistible  that  Mrs.  Sincote  had  written  it  with  the 
intention  of  misleading  him.  It  was  a  very  carefully 
contrived  epistle,  as  the  reader  knows,  but  it  was  not  so 
cunningly  devised  that  a  man  of  Tyscovus's  intellect  and 
knowledge  could  not  see  through  its  misrepresentations 
and  false  assumptions.  It  never  occurred  to  him,  then, 
however,  to  suspect  Mrs.  Sincote  of  having  deliberately 
substituted  the  one  letter  for  the  other  ;  but  he  did  believe 
17 


386  A    STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

that  she  in  one  way  or  another  had  heard  of  the  mistake 
that  had  been  made,  and  had  set  out  deliberately  to  use 
it  for  her  own  ends. 

He  had  seen  very  little  of  this  lady.  On  her  arrival 
at  Chetolah,  Dr.  Willis's  residence  in  Colorado,  some- 
what over  two  years  ago,  he  had  been  in  her  company 
perhaps  half  a  dozen  times,  but  had  not,  on  any  one  of 
these  occasions,  addressed  to  her  half  a  dozen  words.  At 
that  period  of  his  life  his  mind  was  occupied  with  far 
graver  things  than  in  seeking  the  company  of  women  in 
whom  he  took  no  special  interest.  She  had,  in  fact, 
scarcely  attracted  his  notice  ;  and  as  to  her  being  in  love 
with  him,  the  idea  had  never  entered  his  mind.  If  he 
had  known  of  her  feeling  for  him,  he  would  have  been 
quick  enough  to  associate  her  with  the  act  of  changing 
the  letters  ;  and  even  as  it  was,  though  he  could  not  at 
first  find  it  in  his  heart  to  suspect  her,  the  more  he 
thought  of  the  matter,  and  of  her  cautious  and  evidently 
treacherous  letter  to  him,  the  more  he  found  it  impossi- 
ble to  avoid  forming  a  half  suspicion  that  in  some  way 
or  other  she  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  deception  that 
had  been  practised. 

On  his  arrival  in  New  York  he  went  at  once  to  the 
Windsor  Hotel,  and  as  soon  as  he  could  make  himself  pre- 
sentable proceeded  to  Moultrie's  house,  only  a  few  yards 
distant.  It  was  just  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  he 
ascended  the  steps  leading  from  the  street  to  the  front 
door,  and  he  thought,  from  what  Lai  had  written  him  in 
regard  to  their  habits,  that  he  should  find  them  all  in  the 
library  or  drawing-room,  according  to  the  particular  oc- 
cupation or  amusement  that  might  be  engaging  their  at- 
tention. He  had  not  determined  upon  any  definite  course 
of  action,  but  now  he  thought  he  would  send  in  his  card, 


INVESTIGATION.  387 

and  wait  in  the  reception-room  for  an  answer.  For  a  mo- 
ment he  stood  on  the  large  flat  stone  at  the  top  of  the  flight 
of  steps,  his  mind  filled  with  the  memories  of  the  past, 
and  then,  in  rapid  succession,  with  all  the  incidents,  the 
thoughts,  the  fears,  the  hopes  of  the  past  three  days.  In 
a  few  moments  the  question  of  the  truth  or  falsity  of  the 
woman  he  loved  would  be  settled  beyond  a  perad venture, 
but  for  him  it  was  already  determined  as  surely  as  any 
event  of  his  life.  There  was  not  one  lingering  doubt  in 
his  mind.  During  the  journey  from  St.  Louis  he  had  so 
sifted  and  digested  all  the  circumstances  of  the  letter  as 
to  be  absolutely  certain  that  he  had  arrived  at  the  true 
interpretation  in  ascribing  the  fraud  to  Julia  Sincote. 
There  was  nothing  in  his  heart  but  joy.  She  whom  he 
loved  was  separated  from  him  only  by  a  few  walls,  and 
by  doors  that  would  open  at  his  touch.  In  a  few  mo- 
ments she  would  be  in  his  arms.  Every  moment's  delay 
was  an  age  to  him.  He  rang  the  bell,  and  in  an  instant 
the  door  was  opened. 

"  Are  Mrs.  Moultrie  and  Miss  Moultrie  at  home  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Will  you  take  my  card  to  them,  please  ?" 

"  The  ladies  are  in  the  library.  Walk  into  the  draw- 
ing-room, sir." 

The  man  helped  him  to  remove  his  overcoat,  and  then, 
throwing  aside  the  heavy  portiere,  ushered  him  into  the 
drawing-room. 

The  house  was  a  deep  one,  and  Was  situated  on  a  cor- 
ner. Next  to  the  drawing-room,  and  on  the  same  range, 
was  a  smaller  room,  the  two  only  separated  by  an  arch- 
way from  which  portieres  descended.  Beyond  this  was 
the  library,  but  also  communicating,  like  this  smaller 
room  ;  so  that  a  person  in  the  drawing-room  could,  if 


388  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

the  portieres  were  separated,  see  through  the  whole 
range  of  rooms  into  the  library.  Tyscovus  entered,  but 
did  not  sit  down.  As  he  crossed  the  floor  toward  the 
centre  of  the  room,  he  turned  his  face  to  the  left,  and 
there,  far  back,  he  saw  seated  at  a  table  two  ladies,  both 
of  whom  he  at  once  recognized,  even  at  that  distance. 
There  were  books  on  the  table,  and  they  might  have 
been  reading  ;  but  at  that  moment  they  appeared  to  be 
engaged  in  earnest  conversation.  He  saw  that  one  of 
them  was  Mrs.  Moultrie,  and  that  the  other  was  his  dar- 
ling. Her  face  was  turned  almost  directly  toward  him, 
and  the  soft  light  of  the  lamp  fell  full  upon  it.  "  Was 
there  ever  beauty  like  hers  ?"  he  thought.  The  raven- 
black  hair,  with  its  lustrous  sheen,  the  soft  black  eyes, 
the  full,  graceful  mouth,  the  clear  olive  complexion,  with 
the  tint  of  the  wild  rose  struggling  to  show  itself  on  her 
cheeks,  and  barely  succeeding,  were  all  there  as  he  had 
seen  them  in  Colorado,  but  still  more  lovely,  for  they 
were  toned  down  and  refined  and  spiritualized,  as 
though  some  heaven -born  artist  had  touched  them  all 
with  his  inspired  brush.  He  stood,  scarcely  able  to 
restrain  himself  from  rushing  in  without  further  cere- 
mony, and  then  he  saw  the  servant  hand  to  Theodora  a 
salver  on  which  his  card  lay.  She  took  the  little  piece 
of  pasteboard,  and  then,  with  an  exclamation  of  surprise 
and  pleasure,  handed  it  to  Lai.  The  girl  rose  to  her  feet, 
and  for  a  moment  looked  around,  as  though  expecting  to 
see  him  before  her.  He  could  hold  back  no  longer. 
With  rapid  steps  he  crossed  the  floor,  and  had  entered 
the  middle  room  when  she  heard  him  coming.  She 
turned,  and  in  an  instant  met  his  gaze  fixed  upon  her. 
A  soft,  low  cry  of  joy  escaped  her  lips,  and  then  they 
were  pressed  to  his,  and  she  was  folded  to  his  heart. 


INVESTIGATION.  389 

"I  knowed  you  would  come,"  she  said,  as  he  kissed 
her  again  and  again.  "  Oh,  no,  it  warn't  in  you  to  think 
bad  o'  me,  for  you  was  certain  to  remember,  even  if  you 
mought  be  led  wrong  for  awhile,  what  I  said  to  you  on 
the  butte  the  day  I  came  away,  '  that  there  warn't  ary  a 
thing  in  all  the  world  that  could  make  me  forgit  you.'  " 

"  I  did  remember  it,  darling.  It  was  my  confidence 
in  your  truth  and  love  that  brought  me  right,  after  a  few 
hours'  doubt,  and  then  1  hurried  to  you,  sure  that  I 
should  find  you  unchanged." 

"  I  suppose  I  am  of  no  consequence,"  said  Theodora, 
holding  out  both  her  hands  to  Tyscovus  ;  "  but  I  must 
welcome  you,  if  only  for  Lai's  sake." 

"  And  for  your  own,  too,  I  trust,"  replied  Tyscovus, 
as  he  grasped  her  hands,  and  raised  them  one  after  the 
other  to  his  lips.  "  I  have  not  forgotten  one  of  my 
earliest  Colorado  friends,  and  who  will  some  day  be  still 
nearer  to  me." 

'  Yes,  it  excites  my  risible  faculties,"  she  answered, 
with  a  silvery  laugh,  "  when  I  think  that  I  shall  one  day 
be  your  mother.  But  come  !  sit  down  and  tell  us  your 
adventures,  and  then  we  will  tell  you  ours.  First,  how- 
ever, 1  must  send  a  telegram  to  Geoffrey,  for  I  presume 
that  he  is  looking  around  St.  Louis  for  you  at  just  about 
this  time.  You  did  not,  I  suppose,  receive  the  telegram 
he  sent  you  day  before  yesterday  morning,  at  ten 
o'clock  ?" 

"  No  ;  at  that  time  I  was  far  on  my  road  to  New 
York." 

"  It  explained  everything.  However,  we  shall  go 
over  the  whole  matter  with  you.  I  have  only  one  re- 
quest to  make.  Be  charitable,  and  extend  your  forgive- 
ness to  the  one  who  has  wronged  us  all." 


390  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  I  think  1  know  all  that  you  can  tell  me.  If  you  and 
Lai  have  forgiven  her,  surely  I  can." 

Theodora  went  to  the  other  end  of  the  room  to  write 
her  despatch,  and  before  she  had  finished  Lai  had 
nearly  told  Tyscovus  the  whole  story  of  the  fraud.  He 
was  scarcely  surprised,  for,  except  in  the  fulness  of  the 
details,  the  story  did  not  differ  from  that  which  had,  by 
the  exactness  of  his  reasoning,  been  forced  upon  his  mind. 

It  was  late  when  he  returned  to  the  "  Windsor,"  and 
before  he  left,  a  telegram  from  Moultrie  for  Theodora 
was  received.  It  announced  what  of  course  they  knew, 
that  Tyscovus  had  started  for  New  York,  and  then  that 
he  himself,  with  his  sister  Julia,  would  do  so  in  the  morn- 
ing. "  By  the  time  you  get  this,"  he  continued, 
u  Lalage  will  be  happy." 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  I  am  happy,  but  I  think  I  should 
be  still  happier  if  my  dear  father  were  here.  And  he 
has  had  all  that  long  journey  for  nothing  !" 

"  Not  for  nothing,  dear,"  said  Theodora,  softly. 

"  Ko,"  she  answered  ;  "  my  happiness  has  made  me 
selfish.  He  has  saved  her,  and  that  is  a  good  deal." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    WILES    OF    THE   TEMPTER. 

IN  due  time  Moultrie  returned  to  New  York,  bring- 
ing his  erring  but  repentant  sister  with  him.  Evidently 
she  felt  in  full  the  disgrace  she  had  incurred.  She  made 
no  attempt  to  conceal  the  part  she  had  played  in  the 
affair,  nor  to  extenuate  her  guilt.  She  only  asked  that 
she  might  not  be  compelled  to  see  any  member  of  the 
family,  not  even  her  mother,  till  such  time  as  it  might 
be  supposed  their  feeling  against  her  had  been  softened. 
It  was  in  vain  that  her  brother  represented  to  her  that 
they  were  all  prepared  to  extend  full  forgiveness ;  but 
she  persisted,  and  declared  that  she  could  not  look  Lai  or 
Tyscovus  in  the  face  without  being  overcome  with  shame 
and  mortification.  It  was  agreed,  therefore,  that  she 
should  go  to  Moultrie's  country-seat  on  the  North  River, 
and  stay  there  till  she  had  recovered  sufficient  confidence 
in  the  good-nature  of  her  friends  and  in  her  own  power 
to  face  those  she  had  injured,  to  warrant  her  return  to 
New  York. 

Of  course  the  presence  of  Tyscovus  interfered  very 
materially  with  the  course  of  Lai's  studies.  They  walked 
and  rode  together  every  day,  and  when  not  doing  either 
of  these  things  were  talking  with  each  other,  either  in 
some  quiet  nook  in  the  library  by  themselves,  or  in  the 
evening  in  the  drawing-room  with  Moultrie  and  his  wife. 
Congress  was  to  meet  in  a  few  days,  and  arrangements 


392  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

for  the  departure  of  the  Moultries  had  to  be  made.  It 
had  been  determined,  after  due  consideration,  that  Lai 
should  go  also,  and  that  the  house  in  New  York  should 
be  left  unoccupied  during  the  winter.  Theodora  was 
not  feeling  very  well,  but  she  infinitely  preferred  being 
in  Washington  to  remaining  alone  in  New  York. 

Moreover,  another  and  a  still  more  important  point  had 
been  decided  upon.  And  that  was,  that  Tyscovus  and 
Lai  should  be  married  daring  the  coming  winter. 
Tyscovus  had  plead  so  earnestly,  and  had  adduced  so 
many  convincing  arguments  to  the  effect  that  nothing 
advantageous  to  Lai's  education  would  be  gained  by 
delaying  the  marriage,  that  her  father  felt  obliged  to 
yield.  He  showed  conclusively  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  her  to  devote  her  attention  to  the  work  of  learn- 
ing lessons  and  recitations  any  more  assiduously  before 
than  after  marriage.  He  promised  to  be  a  better  in- 
structor than  any  one  that  could  be  found  in  all  the 
world,  "  for,"  reasoned  this  specious  logician,  "  it  is  im- 
possible for  Lai  to  study  when  I  am  with  her,  which,  of 
course,  is  nearly  all  the  time.  I  am  not  her  instructor, 
and,  therefore,  she  loses  a  great  deal,  whereas  if  we 
were  married  she  would  get  her  education  from  me,  and 
I  will  devote  more  time  and  earnestness  to  that  matter 
than  any  mercenary  teacher  is  likely  to  give. " 

As  to  Lai,  she  admitted  that  as  things  were  going  on 
there  was  very  little  attention  paid  to  the  tasks  set  by 
Mrs.  Bowdoin.  When  interrogated  by  her  father  rela- 
tive to  the  matter,  she  frankly  declared  that  she  was  ready 
to  marry  Tyscovus  at  any  moment,  and  that  she  hon- 
estly believed  nothing  would  be  lost  in  her  educational 
advancement  by  such  a  procedure.  Theodora  added  her 
arguments  and  entreaties  to  those  of  the  parties  most  in- 


THE   WILES   OF   THE  TEMPTER.  393 

terested,  so  the  matter  was  settled  by  arranging  that  on 
the  28th  of  December,  in  Washington  City,  the  nuptials 
should  take  place,  and  that  Tyscovus  and  his  bride  should 
then  reside  with  the  Moultries  during  the  session  of 
Congress. 

Moultrie  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  pur- 
chase a  large  and  beautiful  house  in  the  newer  part  of 
the  city.  Upholsterers  and  decorators  had  been  at  work  at 
it  for  several  weeks,  and  it  was  proposed  that  the  whole 
family  should  go  to  Washington  in  a  day  or  two,  so  that 
Theodora  might  be  able  to  give  her  personal  supervision 
to  the  work  that  was  being  done.  Both  she  and  Moultrie 
had  their  own  ideas  in  regard  to  house  decorations  and 
furniture,  and  were  not  disposed  to  give  an  order  to  some 
fashionable  establishment,  and  then  to  leave  the  details 
to  the  taste  of  the  workmen,  without  giving  the  matter 
any  further  care. 

The  day  after  the  dinner  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton  had 
called,  as  in  duty  bound,  to  pay  his  respects  to  Miss  Billy 
Bremen.  He  had  found  the  young  lady  at  home,  for  she 
had  determined  to  stay  in  the  house  every  afternoon  till  his 
visit  had  been  made,  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  missing 
him.  She  was  one  of  those  individuals  that  never  let  the 
grass  grow  under  their  feet.  She  was  quite  sure  that  she 
had  made  a  strong  and  favorable  impression  on  Burton, 
and  she  did  not  intend  to  leave  any  room  for  the  asser- 
tion that  she  had  failed  to  follow  up  her  advantage.  At 
the  same  time,  she  was  aware  that  there  might  be  danger 
in  exhibiting  the  full  strength  of  her  feeling.  She  was 
by  no  means  thoroughly  acquainted  with  Burton.  In 
fact,  she  had  seen  as  yet  only  one  phase  of  his  character, 
and  that  the  most  superficial — the  one,  too,  that  with 
him  was  always  seen  first.  Of  his  good  common-sense 


394  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  of  his  steadfastness  of  purpose  after  he  had  gotten 
over  the  glamour  of  first  impressions  she  knew  absolutely 
nothing.  Bat  she  had  sense  enough  to  be  aware  of  this 
fact.  She  knew  that  she  knew  nothing,  and  that  was  a 
great  deal. 

Thus  far,  however,  it  must  be  admitted  that  her  con- 
quest had  been  an  easy  one.  Indeed,  she  had  been 
greatly  surprised  at  the  readiness  with  which  the  Hon. 
Tom  had  received  the  flattery  she  had  offered  and  the 
attentions  she  had  paid.  These  latter  had  been  so  open, 
especially  after  the  dinner,  when  they  were  together  at 
the  piano,  and  just  as  he  was  taking  his  departure,  that 
both  Miss  Sorby  and  Miss  Boggs  had  thought  it  their 
duty  to  inform  her  that  she  had  gone  farther  than  the 
customs  of  "  good  society"  warranted.  And  Mrs.  Wil- 
loughby  Bull  had  said  that  if  she — Miss  Billy — were 
"  not  going  to  marry  that  young  man,  she  ought  to  be,  for 
things  was  entirely  too  free  and  easy  and  promiscuous- 
like  for  mere  company."  To  all  of  which  Miss  Billy 
had  turned  a  deaf  ear.  So  far  she  was  sure  she  had  not 
gone  beyond  the  bounds  of  what  was  proper.  Although 
she  did  not  know  the  meaning  of  finis  coronat  opus,  yet 
she  had  a  very  clear  idea  that  the  object  was  worth  all 
the  labor  that  she  could  bestow  upon  it,  and  that  so  long 
as  her  wiles  appeared  to  be  favorably  received  by  him 
upon  whom  she  exercised  them,  there  was  no  danger  of 
disgusting  him.  That  the  matter,  however,  required 
watchful  attention,  she  was  ready  to  admit,  and  watchful 
attention  she  meant  to  give  it  to  the  utmost  of  her 
ability. 

Burton  had  entered  her  house  with  very  different  feel- 
ings from  those  that  he  had  experienced  the  night  be- 
fore. He  had  been  reflecting  deeply  upon  the  situation 


THE   WILES    OF  THE   TEMPTER.  395 

of  affairs,  and  he  could  not  avoid  arriving  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  he  had  acted  in  a  very  idiotic  manner.  The 
last  words,  "  Good-night,  Tom,"  that  Miss  Billy  had 
spoken  to  him  had  cut  him  to  the  heart.  They  were 
what  Eachel  was  to  have  said,  and  did  not,  and  he  could 
not  avoid  contrasting  the  effect  that  would  have  been 
produced  upon  his  mind  in  the  one  case,  and  the  effect 
that  actually  was  produced  in  the  other.  The  two 
women  were  so  entirely  different  in  mind  and  person  that 
he  wondered  for  the  moment  how  he,  who  had  been  at- 
tracted by  Rachel  Meadows,  a  lady,  pretty,  refined,  of 
good  family,  should  have  felt  himself  in  a  measure  cap- 
tivated by  Miss  Billy  Bremen,  who  was  not  a  lady,  who 
was  thoroughly  vulgar,  and  whose  family — well,  it  was 
dangerous  to  think  about  families  in  New  York,  when 
he  did  not  know  but  that  the  mother  of  the  beautiful 
and  fashionable  young  lady  at  his  side,  whom  he  drove 
out  to  the  Park  a  day  or  two  ago,  might  have  done  his 
mother's  washing.  He  did  know  that  she  could  not 
speak  ten  consecutive  words  of  good  English.  Yes,  the 
words,  "  Good-night,  Tom,"  coming  from  Miss  Billy's 
not  over-pleasant-looking  mouth,  had  done  much  to 
break  the  spell  that  had  been  thrown  around  him,  and 
he  had  gone  home  feeling  dissatisfied  with  himself,  and 
almost  resolving  that  with  the  payment  of  his  visite  de 
digestion  his  social  relations  with  Miss  Billy  Bremen 
should  cease. 

And  the  more  he  thought  of  the  matter  after  he  had 
arrived  at  his  comfortable  apartment  in  the  Menhaden 
Club  House,  the  more  decided  he  became  on  the  point 
in  question.  Seated  in  his  large  arm-chair,  with  a  cigar 
in  his  mouth,  and  his  clothing  so  arranged  as  to  facilitate 
comfort,  he  had  read  over  the  short  and  touching  letter 


396  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

which  he  had  that  very  morning  received  from  Rachel, 
and  which  lie  had  answered  so  guardedly.  "  I  was  very 
wicked,  and  I  am  very  wretched,"  he  read.  "  Poor 
Rachel  !"  he  continued,  "  I  have  behaved  to  her  like  a 
cold,  calculating,  contemptible  brute.  I  ought  to  have 
gone  to  see  her  at  once.  She  was  worth  the  trouble. 
And  suppose  she  was  trying  to  fool  me  again  ?  It's  no 
disgrace  to  be  fooled  by  a  woman.  And  if  she  was  in 
earnest — and  I'll  swear  she  was — I  have  lost  her,  and  have 
made  a  greater  fool  of  myself  with  that  Bremen  girl  in 
one  evening  than  Rachel,  with  everything  in  her  favor, 
could  have  made  of  me  in  a  lifetime."  The  reflection 
was  not  pleasant,  so  he  tried  to  dismiss  the  subject  from 
his  mind,  and  turned  his  attention  to  writing  several  let- 
ters that  he  was  obliged  to  mail  that  night. 

And  then  the  next  day  he  had  gone  to  pay  his  visit  to 
Miss  Billy.  He  was  thus  prompt  because  he  intended 
to  go  to  Washington  by  the  night  train,  to  arrange  about 
the  Mexican  business,  and  it  was  probable  that  he  might 
not  be  back  for  several  days.  Indeed,  he  might  go  direct 
from  there  to  Mexico.  He  was  anxious  to  get  away 
from  New  York,  and  he  welcomed  the  chance  that  the 
contemplated  appointment  gave  him. 

There  was  no  one  in  the  drawing-room  when  he  entered, 
but  he  did  not  have  long  to  wait,  for  before  he  had  had 
time  to  look  around  at  the  articles  of  virtu  scattered 
about  on  the  wall,  and  a  dozen  or  more  small  stands  and 
tables,  Miss  Billy  entered  the  room. 

"How  are  you,  Tom  !"  she  exclaimed,  rushing  for- 
ward with  outstretched  hands.  "  I  hope  that  you  have 
not  suffered  either  in  mind  or  in  body  from  your  Dissipa- 
tion of  last  night." 

The  words  of  greeting  she  had  used  grated  offensively 


THE  WILES   OF  THE  TEMPTER.  397 

on  his  ears.  For  the  life  of  him  he  could  not  have  re- 
turned her  salutation  in  like  manner.  He  merely  bowed, 
hoped  she  was  well,  and  declared  that  he  had  never  felt 
better  in  his  life. 

"  But  you  are  forgetting  your  bargain,"  she  said,  with 
a  little  giggle.  "  You  promised  to  call  me  Billy,  and 
here,  the  first  time  you  meet  me  afterward,  you  don't 
call  me  anything  at  all." 

u  Billy  !"  he  exclaimed,  with  desperation,  "I  hope 
you  are  well." 

"  Quite  well,  thank  you,  Tom,  and  all  the  better  for 
seeing  you." 

"  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me  too  punctual  in  call- 
ing. But  I  am  going  to  Washington  this  evening,  and 
may  not  be  back  for  some  time. " 

"  You  could  not  be  that  ;  I  am  always  glad  to  see 
you." 

"  I  suppose,"  he  said,  finding  the  conversation  lan- 
guishing, "  that  you  would  not  care  to  sing  now." 

"  I  will  always  sing  for  you!"  she  exclaimed,  getting 
up  at  once  and  going  to  the  piano.  "  No,  don't  move," 
she  continued,  as  he  rose  to  follow  her.  "  I  want  you  to 
sit  down  at  your  ease  and  listen,  or,  rather,  sit  here,' '  draw- 
ing, as  she  spoke,  a  large  and  luxuriously  upholstered 
chair  to  a  place  on  the  floor  just  behind  where  she  would 
sit  at  the  piano.  "  I  think  it  is  so  nice  to  be  comfortable 
when  there  is  music.  You  can  throw  yourself  back,  and 
shut  your  eyes  and  dream.  That  is  what  I  like  to  do 
when  any  one  is  singing  for  me,  provided,  of  course, 
that  the  singing  is — is — ". 

"  As  good  as  yours,"  he  interrupted.  "  Of  course 
you  know  you  sing  divinely." 

"  1  know  1  sing  well,"  she  answered,  casting  down 


398  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

her  eyes,  with  an  attempt  at  a  modest  expression,  "  for  I 
have  had  great  pains  taken  with  me,  and  I  have  worked 
hard  to  succeed." 

He  took  the  seat  she  indicated  and  thanked  her.  He 
was  already  beginning  to  feel  the  influence  of  her  flat- 
tery. 

Then  she  began  to  sing  ;  and  from  that  time  on  poor 
Tom  was  lost  in  a  re  very  of  pure  delight.  He  had  fol- 
lowed her  advice,  and  with  closed  eyes,  so  as  to  shut  out 
all  sensory  impressions  coming  through  them,  he  gave 
himself  up  completely  to  the  intoxication  of  the  hour. 
She  did  not  speak,  and  he  did  not  speak,  but  her  lovely 
voice  filled  his  heart,  and  he  felt  at  times  as  though  he 
could  almost  worship  the  being,  angel  or  demon,  who 
was  capable  of  affording  him  such  keen  enjoyment.  At 
last  she  stopped. 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  he  said,  gravely,  u  to  be  will- 
ing to  give  me  so  much  pleasure.  It  is  a  shame  for  me 
to  ask  for  more  ;  but  if  you  are  not  too  tired  I  would  be 
infinitely  obliged  for  just  one  more  song.  I  never  knew 
but  one  woman  who  could  sing  it  as  it  ought  to  be  sung, 
and  she  is  dead. " 

u  I  am  not  tired.  Singing  never  tires  me.  What  is 
it?" 

"  Beethoven's  Adelaide.'1 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  it  is  my  favorite  of  all  songs." 

He  had  never  heard  it  sung  with  a  tenth  part  of  the 
fervor  or  of  the  vocal  excellence  that  she  gave  to  it.  All 
his  late  ideas  of  the  coarseness  of  Miss  Billy  vanished 
under  the  emotion  her  music  excited.  It  was  impossible 
for  him  to  resist  her  hocus-pocus,  or  whatever  else  it 
might  be.  He  thought  of  Orpheus,  who  even  attracted 
the  beasts  of  the  fields  and  the  very  trees  of  the  forest. 


THE   WILES   OF  THE   TEMPTER.  399 

What  matter  was  it  whether  Orpheus  were  handsome  or 
not  ?  He  had  power  to  move  the  heart.  The  ancient 
myth  was  simply  to  show  that  music  was  a  force  before 
which  nothing  in  the  whole  range  of  animated  nature 
could  stand  unmoved.  "What  was  there  strange,  there- 
fore, in  his  giving  himself  up  to  such  music  as  this 
woman  was  able  to  produce  ? 

He  rose  as  she  finished  and  stood  beside  her. 

"  Why  are  you  so  kind  to  me  ?"  he  said,  with  a  little 
tremor  in  his  voice.  '  '  What  have  1  ever  done  for  you 
that  you  should  be  so  gracious  to  me  ?" 

"Why  am  I  kind  to  you?"  she  answered,  turning 
round  and  facing  him.  "  Can  you  not  guess  ?" 

Now,  Burton  did  not  know  that  Miss  Billy  was  in  love 
with  him  and  wanted  to  marry  him.  He  thought  she 
was  disposed  to  be  very  friendly  with  him,  and  that  she 
wished  to  gain  his  good  opinion  for  some  object  that  she 
had  in  view  in  some  way  connected  with  the  woman's 
rights  movement.  He  knew  that  she  had  separated 
from  the  leaders  of  the  effort  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
that  she  had  endeavored  to  set  him  against  them,  but  he 
did  not  suspect  for  a  moment  that  she  was  in  love  with 
him  ;  so  he  answered  very  promptly  : 

"No,  I  do  not  know.     Tell  me." 

Billy's  face  turned  redder  than  ever  as  she  perceived 
that  a  crisis  in  her  episode  with  Burton  had  come,  and 
that,  perhaps,  if  she  managed  matters  with  discretion, 
she  might,  within  the  following  ten  minutes,  gain  all 
for  which  she  was  struggling.  But  she  was  by  no  means 
clear  in  her  own  mind  how  to  act.  He  had  opened  the 
door  for  her  by  asking  her  to  tell  him  what  it  all  meant. 
To  be  sure,  this  was  something  of  an  imputation  that  she 
had  been  taking  an  initiative  that  ought  to  have  come 


400  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

from  him,  but  she  thought  she  perceived  that  he  had 
had  no  idea  of  ascribing  any  unmaidenly  conduct  to  her. 
His  inquiry  was  clearly  prompted  by  a  sense  of  her  good- 
ness to  him,  and  of  his  deep  appreciation  of  her  musical 
genius.  Evidently  he  was  prepared  to  reciprocate  to  the 
full  any  motive  which  she  might  have  had  to  spur  her 
on  in  her  efforts  to  please  him. 

"  I'll  tell  you,"  she  said,  still  with  downcast  eyes. 
"  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  keep  back  the  manifestations 
of  any  feeling  I  may  have,  kind  or  unkind,  good  or 
bad.  If  I  hated  you  I  should  let  you  know  it  very 
plainly  ;  but  as  I  like  you,  I  let  you  see  that,  too." 

"  And  you  really  like  me  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  more  than  I  have  ever  liked  any  one  else  in 
all  my  life." 

"  And  why  V  said  the  Hon.  Tom,  bending  low  over 
her — "  why  do  you  care  for  me,  a  comparative  stran- 
ger?" 

"  Ah  !  how  can  I  answer  such  a  question  ?"  exclaimed 
Billy,  clasping  her  hands  together.  "  1  do  not  know. 
Can  we  ever  tell,  we  women,  why  our  hearts  become 
filled  with  some  one  of  your  sex  ?  I  only  know  that  you 
are  good  and  kind,  and  that  somehow  or  other  my  des- 
tiny seems  to  be  linked  with  yours." 

Now,  if  the  Hon.  Tom  had  not  been  in  some  respects, 
and  certainly  in  those  in  which  women  were  concerned, 
an  egregious  ass,  he  would  have  been  disgusted  with  this 
speech  of  Miss  Billy's  and  with  her  previous  manoeuvres. 
He  was  not  in  the  slightest  degree  in  love  with  her  when 
out  of  her  presence  ;  he  was  capable  of  appreciating  her 
at  her  true  value,  and  of  experiencing  the  proper  amount 
of  dislike  for  her,  and  for  what  he  then  had  no  difficulty 
in  perceiving  were  unpleasant  qualities.  But  music  so 


THE  WILES   OF  THE  TEMPTER.  401 


affected  his  emotional  system  as  to  pervert  his  intellect 
in  a  way  that,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  was  extremely  illog- 
ical, but  to  which,  in  some  degree  at  least,  all  mankind, 
with  a  touch  of  what  is  generally  called  '(J'liearV  '  in 
their  compositions,  are  subject.  Why  do  menfight  bet- 
ter under  the  stirring  noise  of  the  drum  and  fife  than 
when  there  are  no  such  incentives  ?  Why  do  others 
have  their  arms  and  legs  thrown  into  convulsive  move- 
ments under  the  influence  of  the  lively  strains  of  a  waltz 
or  dance  ?  Why  do  strong,  rugged  men,  who  have  all 
their  lives  defied  the  church,  find  themselves  praying 
and  the  wicked  feelings  going  out  of  them  when  some 
solemn  and  melodious  composition  is  played  on  the 
organ  ?  All  these  are  illogical  and  incongruous  acts,  for 
which  there  is  no  rational  interpretation.  And  then,  it 
may  be  asked  —  and  a  like  answer  would  have  to  be 
given  —  why  should  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton  be  so  moved 
by  the  magnificent  singing  of  a  coarse-minded  and  alto- 
gether commonplace  woman,  who  had  scarcely  a  re- 
deeming quality  beyond  her  appreciation  of  music  —  why 
should  he  be  so  affected  as  to  feel  like  wishing  to  make 
her  his  wife  ?  Such  things  are  ultimate  facts.  We 
only  know  that  they  do  exist,  and  it  will  be  apparent, 
doubtless,  that  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton,  a  man  of  the 
world  and  in  love  with  another  woman,  was  one  of  the 
most  striking  instances  that  have  ever  been  recorded. 

He  stood  in  silence  after  this  last  speech  of  the 
tempter,  struggling  mentally  against  the  influence  that 
was  bearing  so  hardly  upon  him.  He  had  still  a  little  — 
a  very  little,  intelligence  and  self-control  left,  but  it  was 
fast  disappearing.  If  he  had  been  endowed  at  the  time 
with  the  least  spark  of  common-sense,  and  with  the 
slightest  power  of  exerting  his  perceptive  faculties,  he 


402  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

would  at  once  have  known  that  Miss  Billy  was  acting  a 
part,  that  there  was  really  no  passion  in  her  conduct  ex- 
cept that  lowest  of  all,  the  desire  to  possess,  for  the  sake 
of  the  material  advantages  she  might  derive  from  a  mat- 
rimonial alliance  with  a  man  as  distinguished  as  was 
Burton.  She  had  heard  that  he  had  been  offered  a  high 
position  in  the  diplomatic  service  of  the  country,  and 
the  idea  that  she  might,  by  playing  her  cards  well,  go  to 
Mexico  with  him  as  his  wife,  had  taken  complete  posses- 
sion of  her,  and  was  continually  urging  her  on  to  acts 
that,  in  her  opinion,  would  tend  to  aid  in  the  fulfilment 
of  her  wishes. 

Meanwhile  Burton  was  silent,  and  Miss  Billy  began  to 
feel  some  little  apprehension  that  unless  she  followed  up 
her  advantage  she  might  lose  her  prey.  The  shades  of 
night  were  beginning  to  fall,  and  she  knew  that,  as  Bur- 
ton was  going  to  Washington  by  the  night  train,  he 
would  be  leaving  her  house  soon,  and  that  she  would  not 
have  another  opportunity  of  attacking  him,  if  at  all. 
But  what  could  she  say  unless  he  made  some  response, 
either  by  word  or  deed,  to  her  last  tender  speech  ?  In 
her  dilemma  she  ran  her  fingers  over  the  keys  of  the 
piano,  and  she  played  very  softly  and  deliciously,  with- 
out, perhaps,  knowing  what  she  was  doing,  one  of  the 
loveliest  of  Mendelssohn's  "Songs  without  Words." 
That  turned  the  scale  in  her  favor  ;  Burton  laid  a  hand 
on  her  head.  She  stopped  and  turned  toward  him. 
"  Billy,"  he  said,  as  he  drew  her  head  to  his  breast,  "  I 
believe  you  are  an  angel  in  disguise.  I  don't  know 
whether  you  love  me  or  not,  but  if  you  will  try  to  do  so, 
and  will  be  my  wife,  you  will  make  me  the  happiest 
man  in  the  world." 

"  I  do  love  you,"  said  Billy,  standing  up  and  yielding 


THE   WILES    OF   THE  TEMPTER.  403 

herself  unresistingly  to  his  embrace  ;  "  I  think  I  loved 
you  the  first  moment  I  saw  you,  and  I  will  be  your 
wife.  Oh,  Tom,"  she  continued,  "  1  am  so  happy  !" 

The  probability  is  that  she  was  happy,  and  that  at  that  7 
moment  her  happiness  was  increased  by  a  genuine  emo- 
tion of  an  ennobling  character.  There  was  every  reason 
why  she  should  be  greatly  elated,  for  her  efforts  to 
inveigle  Burton  into  a  marriage  proposal  had  been  emi- 
nently successful.  To  be  sure,  he  had  not  been  gained 
by  any  consideration  of  her  mental  or  personal  character- 
istics beyond  that  of  her  ability  to  interpret  vocal  and 
instrumental  musical  compositions  in  a  way  that  took 
away  his  mastership  of  himself  ;  but  for  that  she  cared 
very  little.  She  had  him,  and  that  was  the  main  point, 
after  all. 

"  I  never  heard  any  one  play  or  sing  like  you,"  said 
Burton,  disposed  to  dwell  upon  these  characteristics  of 
Billy  that  he  admired  most.  "  You  make  me  forget 
everything  when  1  hear  you,  and  I  am  scarcely  responsi- 
ble for  what  I  do." 

Now,  it  must  be  confessed  that  this  was  not  exactly 
the  sort  of  speech  that  a  young  lady  who  had  just  re- 
ceived a  proposal  of  marriage,  accompanied  by  those  acts 
of  tenderness  that  generally  attend  upon  an  affair  of  the 
kind,  would  like  to  hear.  To  be  told  by  her  lover  that 
he  is  not  accountable  for  his  actions,  when  the  chief  of 
these  actions — the  only  one,  in  fact,  which  concerns  her — 
is  asking  her  to  be  his  wife  and  then  putting  his  arms 
around  her,  is  calculated  to  dampen  any  feeling  of  ela- 
tion she  may  be  experiencing.  But  the  effect  upon 
Billy  was  not  so  great  in  this  respect  as  might  have  been 
supposed  by  a  person  ignorant  of  her  real  sentiments  and 
designs.  She  had  no  fear  of  losing  Burton.  She  knew, 


404  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

or  at  least  she  thought  she  did,  that  when  he  had  once 
pledged  his  word  to  anything,  and  especially  when  he 
had  given  it  to  a  woman,  he  would  stick  to  it,  no  matter 
how  much  repentance  he  might  subsequently  feel.  She 
had  more — infinitely  more  confidence  in  his  honor  than 
she  had  in  his  love.  In  fact,  she  had  no  confidence  what- 
ever in  the  durability  of  the  impression  she  had  made. 
She  was  clever  enough  to  see  through  the  Hon.  Tom  as 
clearly  as  though  his  envelope  were  of  glass  instead  of 
the  skin  and  flesh  of  nature  and  the  costume  that  civil- 
ization required  him  to  wear  ;  and  she  saw  very  plainly 
that  the  present  demonstrations  were  altogether  based  on 
a  transient  emotion,  that  there  was  not  the  slightest 
depth  to  them,  and  that,  born  as  they  were  of  the  im- 
pulse of  the  moment,  he  would  bitterly  regret  his  weak- 
ness so  soon  as  he  was  out  of  her  presence.  Her  object, 
therefore,  was  to  settle  him  in  his  position  as  her  ac- 
cepted husband  so  firmly  that  he  could  not  escape  the 
thraldom  without  doing  such  violence  to  his  sense  of 
justice  and  right  and  honor  that  he  would  never  venture 
to  make  the  attempt. 

"  When  we  are  married,  dear,"  she  said,  "  I  will  play 
and  sing  for  you  all  day  long.  Oh,  you  will  never  get 
rid  of  me  then  !"  she  continued,  throwing  her  arms 
around  his  neck. 

The  first  faint  glimmerings  of  the  fact  that  he  had 
made  an  ass  of  himself  began  to  dawn  upon  the  Hon. 
Tom.  He  winced  a  little  under  the  encroachments  that 
Billy  was  making.  He  had  not  yet  kissed  her  ;  he  had 
felt  at  first  as  though  he  should  do  so,  but  it  had  been 
deferred  for  a  moment,  and  now  he  felt  quite  sure  that 
he  should  not  perpetrate  that  act.  He  could  not.  The 
idea  was  one  that  was  extremely  repugnant,  and  his  fear 


THE  WILES   OF  THE  TEMPTER.  405 

now  was  that  Billy,  after  throwing  her  arms  around  his 
neck,  would,  as  the  ensuing  performance  on  the  pro- 
gramme, kiss  him. 

What  to  do  next  he  did  not  know,  and  the  situation 
was  every  moment  becoming  more  embarrassing.  Here 
he  stood,  with  his  arms  around  Billy,  and  hers  clasped 
about  his  neck.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to  stand  in 
that  position  very  much  longer,  for  if  he  went  to  Wash- 
ington that  night — and  he  was  now  more  than  ever  de- 
termined to  do  so — he  would  require  all  the  intervening 
time  for  his  preparations.  He  made  a  little  movement 
toward  releasing  himself,  but  her  clutch  around  his  neck 
only  became  the  firmer.  But  the  act  had  the  effect  of 
calling  forth  another  tender  speech  from  Billy. 

"  Tom,"  she  exclaimed,  "  you  do  love  me,  don't 
you?" 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  "  I  think  you  play  and  sing 
better  than  any  person  I  ever  heard. " 

This  was  not  altogether  a  very  passionate  response,  but 
it  was  a  partial  reiteration,  and  to  that  extent  was  satis- 
factory. 

"  You  don't  love  any  one  else,  do  you,  dear  Tom  ?" 

Now,  this  was  a  poser,  and  it  was  one  that  by  its  terms 
required  a  categorical  answer.  Of  course  he  could  have 
lied  about  it,  as  many  men  in  his  position  would  have 
done  ;  but  it  was  not  in  his  nature  to  lie.  He  could  not 
tell  the  truth,  for  that  would  be  to  make  the  woman  he 
was  holding  to  his  heart  feel  uncomfortable  ;  so  he 
gazed  abstractedly  at  the  ceiling,  and  said,  as  though  the 
idea  which  had  prompted  his  last  observation  was  still 
floating  through  his  mind,  "  Yes  ;  more  divinely  than 
any  person  I  ever  heard. ' ' 

If  Billy  had  had  as  much  sound  intellect  as  she  had  of 


406  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

a  certain  kind  of  Yankee  smartness,  she  would  have  let 
matters  drop,  have  taken  her  arms  from  around  Bur- 
ton's neck,  and  have  let  him  go,  with  the  assurance  she 
was  rightly  entitled  to  entertain  that  she  had  hooked  her 
fish  so  firmly  that  escape  from  the  landing-net  was  im- 
possible. But  the  success  she  had  had  was  altogether  so 
much  more  speedy  and  complete  than  she  had  supposed 
was  possible,  that  her  brain  was  beginning  to  be  a  little 
turned,  and  she  was  approaching  that  mental  condition 
which  prompts  an  individual  to  form  a  feeling  of  con- 
tempt for  the  active  or  passive  powers  of  resistance  of 
an  antagonist.  She  felt  so  sure  of  her  conquest  that  she 
determined  not  only  to  put  the  chains  around  her  cap- 
tive, but  to  rivet  them  so  securely  that  he  would  see  at 
once  the  utter  hopelessness  of  all  efforts  to  free  himself, 
and  would  be  reduced  to  such  an  abject  state  of  servi- 
tude that  her  slightest  wish  would  be  law.  She  there- 
fore repeated  her  question,  with  a  slight  modification, 
and  with  a  little  preamble,  calculated  to  lessen  any  diffi- 
culty in  giving  an  answer. 

"  Of  course  I  know,  dear,"  she  said,  "  that  a  gentle- 
man like  you,  living  in  the  gulf  of  fashion,  and  thrown 
with  all  kinds  of  beautiful  ladies,  must  have  been  in  love 
at  some  time  or  other  ;  but  they're  all  out  of  your  mind 
now,  Tom,  aren't  they  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  think  they  are." 

"  You  don't  love  that  Rachel  Meadows,  do  you? 
You  never  did  love  her  ?" 

"  What  do  you  know  about  Rachel  Meadows  ?"  he 
exclaimed,  roused  to  himself  again  in  a  way  and  to  an 
extent  that  no  other  words  in  the  language  could  have 
produced,  and  breaking  loose  at  last  from  Billy's  em- 
brace. 


THE   WILES   OF  THE   TEMPTER.  407 

"  I  know  a  good  deal  about  her,"  exclaimed  this 
young  woman,  her  eyes  sparkling  with  anger  and  her 
face  assuming  the  usual  livid  hue  that  it  did  whenever 
she  lost  her  temper.  "  I  know  she's  a  nasty,  lying, 
treacherous,  disagreeable  thing,"  and  with  each  adjective 
Billy  stamped  her  square  foot  violently  on  the  carpet. 

"  I  know  Miss  Meadows,"  said  Burton,  becoming  as 
pale  as  a  sheet  with  disgust,  "  better,  perhaps,  than  you 
do,  Miss  Bremen,  and  I  know  her  to  be  everything  that 
is  lovely." 

"  Then  you  are  in  love  with  her  ?" 

"  God  help  me,  I  believe  1  am  1" 

"  And  here,"  she  continued,  pounding  her  chubby 
fists  on  the  key -board  of  the  piano,  and  thus  keeping  up 
a  discordant  accompaniment  to  her  speech,  "  you  have 
been  telling  me  you  loved  me  !" 

"  Excuse  me,  Miss  Bremen,  I  never  told  you  anything 
of  the  kind." 

"  You  did  !  You  know  you  did  !  And  now  you 
dare  to  deny  it  !' ' 

( '  I  asked  you  to  be  my  wife. ' ' 

"  And  isn't  that  the  same  thing  ?" 

"  1  think  not ;  1  did,  under  the  influence  of  feelings 
aroused  by  your  beautiful  music,  ask  you  to  be  my  wife. 
I  am  ready  to  make  you  Mrs.  Burton  whenever  it  may 
suit  your  convenience,  provided  you  have  practised  no 
deceit  upon  me — no  actual  fraud. " 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  fraud  ?" 

' '  When  you  were  in  my  office  yesterday, ' '  he  contin- 
ued, in  a  firm,  steady  tone,  and  with  a  resolution  that  no 
one  could  have  excelled,  for  he  was  at  his  best,  now  that 
the  glamour  had  gone,  "  I  was  in  trouble,  for  a  mis- 
understanding had  occurred  between  me  and  Miss  Mead- 


408  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

ows,  whom  1  had  asked  to  be  my  wife,  and  whom  1 
loved  with  all  my  heart.  I  should  probably  have  taken 
measures  to  stop  all  the  cross-purposes  at  which  we  were 
playing  but  for  something  that  you  told  me  about  her, 
and  in  which  you  were  apparently  supported  by  irrefrag- 
able evidence.  If  in  all  that,  you  told  me  the  truth — if 
your  evidence  was  not  manufactured  for  the  occasion,  I 
will  marry  you  whenever  you  please,  even  though  I 
leave  you  at  the  altar.  But  as  to  loving  you  after  the 
exhibition  you  have  just  given  me,  that  is  out  of  the 
question.  If  you  had  shown  yourself  to  be  good  and 
honest  and  true,  1  should  doubtless  in  time  have  loved 
and  respected  you.  All  that  is  now  impossible." 

While  Burton  was  speaking  Billy's  face  passed  through 
all  the  hues  of  the  rainbow,  and  she  looked  as  though 
she  might  be  going  to  have  one  of  the  "  spells"  against 
which  her  physician  had  warned  her.  The  anger,  the 
jealousy,  and  the  vindictiveness  that  filled  her  whole  be- 
ing kept  her  up,  so  that  by  the  time  he  had  finished  she 
was  ready  to  resume  her  part  in  the  contest. 

"  It  is  you  who  are  the  fraud  !"  she  exclaimed,  wav- 
ing her  arms  wildly.  "  You  promised  to  marry  me, 
and  I'll  make  you  do  it,  if  I  have  to  appeal  to  the  law  for 
protection." 

"  Such  a  procedure,  Miss  Bremen,  will  not  be  neces- 
sary. You  have  only  to  convince  me  that  you  have 
committed  no  imposition  upon  me,  and  you  may  send 
for  a  clergyman  this  instant.  Or  I  will  go  round  the 
corner  to  the  nearest  magistrate  and  be  married  at  once." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  imposition  ?"  she  shrieked. 
"How  dare  you  accuse  me  of  such  a  thing  !" 

"  Let  me  see  the  newspaper  that  you  showed  me  yes- 
terday." 


THE   WILES   OF  THE  TEMPTER.  409 

"  I  haven't  it ;  I  lost  it  on  my  way  home.  You  ain't 
such  a  fool  as  to  doubt  your  senses,  are  you  ?  Didn't 
you  read  for  yourself  ?" 

"  I  glanced  over  it  merely  ;  I  wish  to  read  the  whole 
of  it.  Yesterday  1  had  more  confidence  in  you  than  I 
have  now.  Please,  therefore,  to  regard  our  engagement 
as  standing  contingently  on  the  truth  of  the  meaning 
you  conveyed  to  my  mind  yesterday.  I  shall  get  a  copy 
of  the  paper  this  evening.  If  you  are  right,  1  will  marry 
you  to-morrow,  if  you  like  ;  if  you  have  deceived  me, 
you  will  never  have  an  opportunity  of  bringing  your 
arts  to  bear  upon  me  again. " 

"  Yery  well,  sir,  I  am  satisfied.  Perhaps  you  call 
yourself  an  honorable  man  because  you  say  you  are  will- 
ing, under  certain  circumstances,  to  fulfil  the  letter  of 
your  promise.  Now,  sir,  I  want  you  to  understand  it  is 
I  who  cast  you  off.  You  are  a  fraud,  sir  !  A  moment 
ago  you  called  me  an  angel ;  now  you  are  trying  to  sneak 
out  of  it.  Yes,  sir,  you  can  go.  I  have  no  more  use 
for  a  fraud  like  you." 

"  Then  you  did  deceive  me  yesterday  ?  Yes,  I  see  by 
your  face  that  you  did.  How  I  do  not  know,  but  that 
will  be  a  very  easy  matter  to  find  out.  Happily,  your 
machinations  will  fail.  True,  I  called  you  an  angel — an 
'  angel  in  disguise  ;  '  so  much  disguised,  I  may  say,  that 
nobody  but  a  fool  like  me  would  have  taken  you  for 
one." 

"  Go  back  to  your  Rachel  Meadows,  if  you  like  ;  if 
you  can  stand  a  woman  of  her  character — " 

"  Stop  !"  exclaimed  Burton.     "  You—" 

"  You  sold  yourself  to  me  for  five  thousand  dollars  ! 
A  very  honorable  man  !  Oh,  very  honorable  !" 

In  an  instant  Burton  had  his  pocketbook  in  his  hand  ; 
18 


410  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

lie  opened  it  hurriedly,  and  taking  out  the  check  that 
Billy  had  given  him  yesterday,  tore  it  into  a  hundred 
pieces  and  threw  them  on  the  floor,  while  Miss  Billy 
continued  to  indulge  in  a  series  of  piercing  shrieks,  end- 
ing by  falling  apparently  in  a  lifeless  condition  on  a  sofa 
that  stood  conveniently  at  hand.  Burton  looked  at  her 
for  a  moment,  and  seeing  that  she  was  not  so  dead  but 
that  she  could  open  her  eyes  and  glance  at  him  defiantly, 
he  walked  out  of  the  house  with  as  much  composure  as 
he  could  command,  cursing  himself  for  his  folly,  but 
resolved  to  fulfil  to  the  letter  his  engagement  with  Billy 
if,  upon  examination,  he  found  she  had  not  imposed 
upon  him  relative  to  Rachel's  lecture. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CONSOLATIONS. 

IT  was  only  half-past  five  o'clock  when  Burton  left 
Miss  Billy  in  a  paroxysm  of  impotent  rage  in  her  own 
drawing-room,  but  it  was  already  quite  dark.  His  dog- 
cart, with  its  team  of  bays  tandem,  in  which  he  had 
driven  up  to  East  Seventy-fifth  Street,  was  at  the  door, 
and  the  young  gentleman  in  livery  and  top-boots  who 
officiated  as  groom  was  standing  at  the  head  of  the  lead- 
ing horse  and  beginning  to  wonder  if  his  master  intended 
to  "  stay  in  there  all  night."  Burton  jumped  in,  followed 
by  the  youth,  who  seated  himself  in  that  humiliating  po- 
sition which  those  of  his  official  grade  are  compelled  by 
the  requirements  of  fashion  to  assume,  and  seizing  the 
reins  let  the  team  go  pretty  much  as  they  would  through 
Seventy-fifth  Street  to  the  Park,  then  down  the  east  drive 
to  Fifth  Avenue,  and  then  on  to  the  Menhaden  Club. 
How  he  ever  contrived  to  avoid  the  vehicles  he  passed 
was  a  wonder.  Perhaps  if  he  had  tried  he  would  have 
run  into  some  of  them  ;  as  it  was,  he  let  the  horses  have 
their  own  way,  and  their  instinct  and  training  had  saved 
him  from  disaster.  The  first  thing  he  did  on  arriving 
at  the  club-house  was  to  ask  for  a  file  of  the  Tattler  for 
the  last  six  months. 

This  was  obtained  with  some  difficulty  ;  for,  as  the 
clerk  informed  him,  the  paper  was  not  now  taken  by  the 
club,  the  library  committee  having  stricken  it  from  the 


412  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

list  on  account  of  its  unreliability,  and  the  files  of  the 
old  numbers  having  been  put  aside  in  some  out-of-the- 
way  place.  Finally  he  got  it,  and  ascending  to  his  apart- 
ment, seated  himself  in  his  enormous  arm-chair  and 
began  the  search  for  the  lecture.  It  was  not  much  of  a 
task,  and  then  he  began  the  perusal,  intending  to  read 
every  word  of  it  from  beginning  to  end. 

The  beauty  of  the  language,  the  conciseness  of  expres- 
sion, and  the  refinement  of  the  ideas  pleased  him  beyond 
measure  ;  then  he  came  to  the  passages  that  Miss  Billy 
had  read  to  him.  They  were  not  Rachel's  !  They  were 
quoted  from  Mary  Wollstonecraft's  "  Rights  of  Women," 
and  were  the  only  obscure  parts  of  the  lecture.  And, 
what  was  more,  they  were  cited  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
demning them,  and  they  were  condemned  in  no  measured 
phrases. 

Again,  therefore,  he  had  abundant  evidence  of  his 
folly  in  allowing  himself  to  be  so  egregiously  deceived 
by  the  vulgar  little  minx,  from  whom  now,  happily,  by 
his  discovery  of  her  treachery,  he  was  free.  He  did  not 
spare  himself — he  was  not  the  man  to  do  that — but  he 
made  a  solemn  vow  that,  for  the  future,  he  would  en- 
deavor to  be  a  different  kind  of  a  man.  He  thought  he 
had  in  him  the  nerve  to  attempt  the  revolution  of  his 
character  and  the  will-power  to  carry  out  his  intentions. 
He  felt  ashamed  and  humiliated  at  the  thought  of  what 
he  had  gone  through  during  the  last  twenty-four  hours, 
and  he  saw  very  clearly  that  the  chief  blame  rested  on 
his  own  shoulders.  Now,  what  was  to  be  done  ? 

First,  he  decided  to  postpone  his  Washington  journey 
to  the  following  night,  and  then  to  return  as  soon  as  was 
practicable.  In  the  arrangements  he  had  contemplated 
relative  to  his  voyage  to  Mexico,  and  of  not  returning  to 


CONSOLATIONS.  413 

E~ew  York,  lie  had  forgotten  that  he  was  under  engage- 
ment to  deliver  a  lecture  on  "  Texas  Before  the  Annex- 
ation." This  lecture  was  appointed  for  that  day  a  week, 
so  that  his  stay  in  Washington  would  not  be  long. 

Second,  he  resolved  to  act  generously  and  magnani- 
mously to  Rachel.  His  escape  from  Miss  Billy's  clutches 
had  warmed  up  the  love  that  was  a  little  cooled  by  the 
adverse  influences  to  which  it  had  been  subjected.  He 
saw  more  markedly  than  ever  the  differences  between 
the  two  women,  and  shuddered  when  he  thought  of  the 
life  he  would  have  led  as  the  husband  of  the  little 
butcheress  of  East  Seventy-fifth  Street.  He  determined 
that  he  would  not  let  another  night  pass  over  his  head 
without  making  an  effort  to  see  Rachel,  and  to  renew 
the  relations  which,  only  two  nights  ago,  seemed  as 
though  they  were  destined  to  exist  through  their  whole 
lives. 

Having  come  to  this  conclusion,  which  was,  perhaps, 
the  most  sensible  one  he  had  reached  for  several  days, 
he  dressed  and  went  to  dinner.  Then  taking  a  cab,  he 
drove  up  to  the  u  Joan  of  Arc,"  and  sending  up  his  card, 
waited  impatiently  to  be  ushered  to  Rachel's  apartment. 
He  walked  up  and  down  the  floor  of  the  little  reception- 
room,  feeling  the  gravity  of  the  situation  in  which  he 
was  placed,  but  resolved  to  act  his  part  without  either 
pride  or  prejudice  in  a  manly  effort  to  effect  a  reconcilia- 
tion. He  regretted  that  he  had  not  gone  to  her  on  the 
receipt  of  her  note,  and  he  reproached  himself  bitterly 
for  the  excessive  caution  and  distrust  that  had  prevented 
him  taking  a  large-hearted  and  chivalrous  view  of  her 
conduct.  Probably,  he  thought,  she  had  acted  more  out 
of  playfulness  than  anything  else.  Certainly  she  would 
never  have  written  him  that  she  was  wicked  and  wretched 


414  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

if  she  had  not  continued  to  love  him.  As  to  her  trying 
to  inveigle  him  into  other  and  deeper  complications,  that 
was  absurd.  Yes,  he  had  been  an  awful  fool  to  think 
such  a  thing,  even  for  one  moment.  She  was  made  of 
different  stuff  from  that  which  entered  into  the  composi- 
tion of  Miss  Billy  Bremen. 

But  his  meditations  were  interrupted  by  the  return  of 
the  servant  with  the  information  that  Miss  Meadows  and 
her  mother  had  left  early  in  the  afternoon  on  a  visit  to  the 
country,  and  that  they  would  not  return  for  several  days. 

His  heart  sank  within  him.  "  Do  you  know  where 
they  have  gone  ?" 

"  The  janitor  is  out,  sir,  and  I'm  taking  his  place  till 
he  comes  back.  Perhaps  if  you  were  to  call  to-mor- 
row you  could  find  out." 

Yes,  perhaps  he  would  call.  In  the  mean  time  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait  till  his  return  from 
Washington.  It  would  be  something,  however,  of  a 
relief  to  write  to  her.  So  to-morrow  he  would  return 
and  get  the  address.  Then  he  went  back  to  his  club, 
where  we  can  leave  him  in  safety  till  we  have  followed 
up  the  movements  of  some  of  the  other  important  per- 
sonages of  this  history. 

When  Rachel  wrote  her  note  to  Burton  she  was 
suffering  from  remorse  for  her  conduct  to  him  and  from 
that  mental  anguish  that  comes  from  the  consciousness 
that  through  our  own  acts  we  have  lost  something  that 
is  very  dear  to  us — certainly  the  worst  form  of  the 
affection.  The  more  she  reflected  upon  the  matter,  the 
more  she  was  convinced  that  she  really  loved  Burton, 
and  with  an  intensity  and  depth  that  she  had  not  sus- 
pected, even  when  she  stood  by  his  side  at  the  piano  and 
her  hot  tears  were  falling  thick  and  fast  on  his  hand. 


CONSOLATIONS.  415 

She  had  from  the  first  moment  of  their  acquaintance 
been  strongly  impressed  with  the  sense  of  his  thorough 
honesty  and  ingenuousness,  amounting  almost  to  sim- 
plicity. In  fact,  he  had  seemed  to  her  like  some  frank 
and  unsophisticated  boy,  whose  innate  chivalrous  spirit 
had  not  been  enlightened  by  living  in  contact  with  a 
world  of  pretension  and  deceit.  This  had  been  a  good 
foundation  upon  which  to  erect  a  warmer  and  firmer 
superstructure,  and  she  had  built  it  with  almost  as  much 
rapidity  as  a  similar  process  of  creation  had  been  going 
on  in  Burton's  heart. 

She  had  said  nothing  on  the  subject  to  her  mother,  for 
the  reason  that  Mrs.  Meadows,  while  a  very  excellent 
woman,  had,  through  her  many  contests  with  her  late 
husband,  the  commodore,  acquired  an  impassivity  and  un- 
susceptibility  of  disposition  that  repelled  any  idea  Rachel 
might  have  had  of  making  her  a  confidante  in  a  matter 
requiring  sympathy  and  advice.  There  was  but  one 
person  of  all  her  acquaintances  to  whom  she  could  turn, 
and  that  was  Miss  Richardson.  First  of  all,  however, 
she  had  her  note  to  write  to  Burton.  As  the  reader 
knows,  it  was  short,  but  expressive  and  comprehensive. 
Pages  would  not  have .  conveyed  a  more  accurate  or 
thorough  idea  of  her  mental  condition  than  did  the  few 
words  she  used,  except  in  the  one  matter  of  her  desire 
that  he  should  call  and  see  her.  In  the  first  note  she 
wrote  she  had  invited  him  to  do  so  ;  but  upon  reflection 
she  had  determined  to  omit  any  request  of  the  kind,  so 
she  destroyed  that  one  and  wrote  another.  "If  he 
chooses  to  come,"  she  said,  u  he  will  know  that  I  shall 
be  glad  to  see  him.  He  will  see  that  I  am  sorry  for 
what  I  have  done,  and  that  I  have  set  all  pride  aside  in 
making  my  confession." 


416  A   STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

She  had  risen  early,  had  written  her  note,  and  then 
taking  a  cup  of  chocolate  and  a  biscuit,  sallied  out  for  a 
morning's  walk.  It  was  then  only  seven  o'clock,  too 
early,  she  thought,  to  walk  in  the  Park  unattended.  So, 
dropping  her  note  into  the  nearest  letter-box,  she  started 
at  a  brisk  pace  down  Fifth  Avenue.  If  the  Hon.  Tom 
Burton  had  seen  her  then  he  would  have  been  more  pas- 
sionately in  love  than  ever,  and  indisposed  to  wait  a  mo- 
ment in  tendering  his  forgiveness.  She  was  dressed  in  a 
suit  of  blue  cashmere,  with  a  jaunty  little  hat  on  her 
head,  from  beneath  which  the  tresses  of  her  luxuriant 
chestnut  brown  hair  seemed  to  be  struggling  to  escape. 
Her  figure  was  perfection  itself,  her  hands  were  nicely 
gloved,  and  her  feet  daintily  shod,  and  she  walked  with 
that  graceful,  firm,  swinging  gait  that  showed  that  she 
had  legs  and  not  pipe-stems  beneath  her  petticoats. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  stride  in  the  way  that  she 
moved  over  the  pavement.  She  did  not  set  her  feet 
down  on  the  flag-stones  as  a  pestle  is  rammed  into  a 
mortar,  but  they  glided  forward  with  a  decision  and  an 
apparent  knowledge  of  just  where  they  were  to  go,  and 
just  how  long  they  were  to  stay,  that  almost  made  one 
think  that  they  had  intelligence  and  wills  of  their  own. 
"  By  Heaven  !"  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton  had  exclaimed, 
when  he  first  saw  her  come  out  of  a  side  door  and  cross 
to  her  place  on  the  platform,  as  she  was  about  to  begin 
that  unfortunate  lecture  in  Galveston,  "  she  walks  like  an 
Andalusian  milkmaid."  The  simile  was  not  exactly  a 
correct  one,  for  there  are  no  milkmaids  in  Andalusia, 
and  Rachel  Meadows  walked  more  airily,  and  at  the 
same  time  lithesomely,  than  any  Andalusian  woman  that 
ever  lived. 

She  walked  down  the  Avenue  as  far  as  Fourteenth 


CONSOLATIONS.  417 

Street,  passing  the  Menhaden  Club-house  while  the 
Hon.  Tom  Burton  was  still  firmly  clasped  in  the  arms 
of  Morpheus,  though  slumbering  uneasily  under  the 
semi -consciousness  that  matters  were  not  going  well  with 
hinK TEerTshe^went  along  Fourteenth  Street  to  Union 
Square,  and  along  the  west  side  of  that  thoroughfare  to 
Broadway,  and  up  that  street  to  Pursell's,  which  place 
of  refreshment  she  entered,  as  she  often  did,  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  her  breakfast — a  meal  which,  after  a 
brisk  walk  such  as  she  had  taken  this  morning,  she  spe- 
cially enjoyed. 

She  had  bought  a  morning  newspaper  as  she  came 
down-town,  and  while  her  breakfast  was  being  prepared 
she  sat  near  a  window  reading  the  news  of  the  day  and 
the  editorial  comments.  First  she  read  an  account  of 
Theodora's  lecture,  and  then  the  remarks  that  were 
made  upon  the  subject  and  upon  that  of  the  education 
of  woman  in  general.  That  brought  to  her  mind  the 
fact  that  Mrs.  Moultrie  had  announced  her  intention  of 
resigning  her  professorship.  Indeed,  she  knew  that  the 
resignation  had  already  been  sent,  and  would  probably 
reach  them  that  morning.  Rachel  was  not  a  fool.  She 
had  surmised,  from  the  few  words  of  explanation  that 
had  been  given  her,  the  cause  of  the  dissolution  of  the 
relations  between  Mrs.  Moultrie  and  the  college,  and  the 
subject  set  her  to  thinking  whether  it  might  not  be 
possible  that  there  was  a  limit  to  the  field  of  use- 
fulness of  women  that  should  be  ascertained  by  some 
better  process  than  the  hap-hazard  one  adopted  by 
the  association  of  which  she  had  been  a  member  up 
to  the  time  of  Miss  Billy  Bremen's  vulgar  assault  upon 
her. 

She  turned  over  the  pages  of  her  newspaper,  when  the 


418  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

heading  "  News  from  Washington"  met  her  eye,  and 
she  read  : 

"Complications  with  Mexico. — Trouble  has  arisen  with 
Mexico  in  regard  to  the  incursions  of  our  troops  into  her 
territory  while  in  pursuit  of  hostile  Indians.  There  ap- 
pears to  be  a  friendly  feeling  existing  on  the  part  of  the 
Mexican  Government,  which  it  is  exceedingly  desirable 
should  be  still  further  cultivated.  At  the  same  time  it  is 
highly  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  both  countries  that 
when  Indians  have  crossed  from  Mexico,  and  have  com- 
mitted depredations  on  one  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  that 
the  pursuit  of  them  should  cease  the  moment  they  have 
reached  that  river.  The  President  has  taken  the  matter 
into  serious  consideration,  and,  it  is  understood,  was  yes- 
terday for  several  hours  in  consultation  with  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  on  the  subject.  The  full  result  of  the 
conference  has  not  been  made  public,  but  it  is  quite  cer- 
tain that  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton,  late  of  Texas,  but  now 
residing  in  New  York,  will  be  offered  the  appointment 
of  special  envoy  to  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  with  the 
view  of  arriving  at  some  understanding  satisfactory  to 
both  countries.  Other  matters  of  importance  will  also 
be  placed  in  that  gentleman's  hands.  The  President  and 
Secretary  are  of  the  opinion  that  Mr.  Burton  has  a  pecul- 
iar fitness  for  the  delicate  mission  in  question  ;  and  though 
he  is  a  Democrat,  it  was  decided  that  the  appointment 
should  be  offered  to  him." 

Surprise,  delight,  pride,  regret — all  struggled  in  Ra- 
chel's bosom  as  she  read  these  lines.  This  was  the  man 
she  had  trifled  with,  a  man  who,  in  spite  of  his  politics 
being  different  from  those  of  the  party  in  power,  had 
been  chosen  from  all  the  eminent  men  in  the  land  for  this 
position  of  honor  and  responsibility.  She  was  proud  that 


CONSOLATIONS.  419 

such  a  man  had  loved  her,  proud  of  him,  proud  of  her- 
self, that  she  had  been  able  to  inspire  the  love  of  one  in 
whom  the  rulers  of  the  nation  placed  such  implicit  con- 
fidence. It  could  not  be,  she  thought,  that  she  had  lost 
him  forever  by  one  inconsiderate  act  of  which  she  had 
fully  repented.  When  he  received  her  note  he  would 
come  back  to  her,  and  then  she  would  amply  atone  for 
her  fault. 

So  he  was  going  to  Mexico.  Oh,  if  she  could  go  with 
him  as  his  wife  !  "  Oh,  Tom,  Tom  !"  she  murmured, 
from  behind  her  newspaper,  "  come  back  to  me  !  Oh, 
I'll  never,  never,  never  say  a  cross  word  to  you  again  ! 
My  brave,  noble,  chivalrous  Tom  !  You  called  me  your 
'  Beauty  '  last  night,  but  I  really  believe  I'm  more  of  a 
'  Beast'  than  Billy  Bremen  !"  She  glanced  across  the 
room  toward  a  looking-glass,  and  smiled  away  the  tears 
from  her  eyes  as  she  saw  how  comely  she  was,  and  what 
inestimable  advantages,  in  this  respect  at  least,  she  pos- 
sessed over  Miss  Richardson's  "  Beast." 

Then  she  turned  her  attention  to  her  breakfast,  and 
having  despatched  a  couple  of  Yorkshire  muffins  and  an 
omelette,  with  a  goodly  sized  cup  of  coffee,  she  resumed 
her  walk  up-town.  The  clock  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel  indicated  nine  o'clock.  By  the  time  she  could 
arrive  at  Miss  Richardson's  residence  it  would  •  not  be 
too  early  for  her  to  receive  an  intimate  acquaintance. 
Miss  Richardson  had  only  a  short  time  previously  pur- 
chased a  very  pretty  little  English  basement  house,  situ- 
ated in  West  Forty-sixth  Street,  not  far  from  Fifth 
Avenue.  Here  she  lived  in  great  comfort,  not  to  say 
luxury,  with  a  distant  relative,  a  lady  of  fifty,  and  two 
women  servants.  She  had  a  small  fortune  of  her  own, 
and  she  had  added  to  it  very  considerably  by  her  lectures 


420  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

and  her  literary  labors,  chiefly  by  two  immensely  suc- 
cessful novels,  each  of  which  had  been  sold  to  the  extent 
of  many  thousands  of  copies,  besides  being  very  popular 
in  Great  Britain,  and  having  been  translated  into  several 
European  languages.  Of  course,  however,  owing  to  the 
absence  of  an  international  copyright,  she  had  derived 
nothing  but  honor  from  the  foreign  sales. 

Miss  Richardson  received  Rachel  with  great  kindness. 
"  I  see,"  she  said,  as  she  kissed  her  affectionately,  "  that 
you  have  recovered  from  the  effects  of  that  little 
i  Beast's '  assault.  I  never  saw  you  look  lovelier,  my 
dear,  than  you  do  to-day.  What  is  your  secret  ?  Is  it 
a  clear  conscience,  or  early  hours,  or  plenty  of  exercise 
in  the  open  air,  or  a  good  digestion  ?  Or,"  she  added, 
looking  closely  into  Rachel's  face,  over  which  a  rosy 
blush  was  beginning  to  appear,  "  are  you  in  love  ?" 

"  Do  you  think  I  look  well  ?  It's  very  strange,  for  I 
never  felt  so  miserable  in  all  rriy  life." 

"  Why,  my  dear  child,  what's  the  matter  ?"  said  Miss 
Richardson,  tenderly,  as  Rachel  covered  her  face  with 
her  hands  and  began  to  sob.  "  Are  you  still  worried 
over  that  little  '  Beast  '  and  her  vulgar  attack  ?  Don't 
think  of  her,  my  dear.  Come,"  putting  her  arms 
around  her  and  drawing  her  toward  a  sofa.  "  Sit  down 
here  and  tell  me  what  troubles  you.  You  know  how  fond 
I  am  of  you,  and  that  my  sympathy  is  always  with  you. " 

"  It's  not  th-that— "  sobbed  Rachel. 

"  Then  what  is  it  ?     My  dear,  are  you  really  in  love  ?" 

"  Yes — ver-very  mu-much." 

"  I  never  knew  of  this  before.  How  long,  dear,  have 
you  been  in  love  ?" 

"  Only  since — since — last  night,"  sobbed  Rachel,  bury- 
ing her  face  in  Miss  Richardson's  bosom. 


CONSOLATIONS.  421 

"  Only  since  last  night  !  Well,  it  can't  be  so  very 
bad,  seeing  that  twenty-four  hours  have  not  yet  elapsed." 

"  But  it  is  very  bad,  and  I'm  the  most  mis-miser- 
miserable  woman  that  ever  lived." 

"  They're  all  alike.  How  could  you  trust  one  of 
them  ?  The  man  must  be  very  wicked,  my  dear,  who 
could  treat  you  badly." 

"  Oh,"  exclaimed  Rachel,  raising  her  head  and  for 
the  moment  stopping  her  sobbing,  "  he's  not  bad  at  all ! 
He's  everything  that's  good  and  noble  and  true.  It's 
I  who  am  wicked,  for  I  be-believe  I've  bro-broken  his 
hear-hear-heart. ' ' 

''  Pooh  !  pooh  !  my  dear  ;  men's  hearts  are  not  so  read- 
ily broken  as  all  that,  especially  for  the  loss  of  a  woman. 
If  they  lose  a  few  thousand  dollars  in  Wall  Street  their 
hearts,  or  what  they  call  such,  undergo  some  sort  of  a 
process  which  they  call  '  breaking.'  But  even  you, 
lovely  and  good  as  you  are,  couldn't  break  the  heart  of 
the  worst  or  best  man  in  New  York.  Now,  dry  your 
eyes,  and  tell  me  who  this  paragon  is  whose  heart  you 
think  you  have  broken." 

"  It's  Mr.  Tom  Burton,"  said  Rachel,  wiping  her 
eyes  with  her  handkerchief,  and  with  an  effort  com- 
manding herself. 

u  Mr.  Tom  Burton  !  So  he's  the  c  Admirable  Crich- 
ton  '  whose  tender  heart  has  given  way  in  consequence 
of  your  real  or  fancied  nn kindness  !  My  dear,  I  have 
just  corne  in  from  an  early  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  United  Women  of  America.  I  saw 
Miss  Billy  Bremen,  the  i  Beast,'  there,  and  I  heard  her 
say  that  Mr.  Burton  had  accepted  an  invitation  to  dine 
with  her  this  evening.  And  that  is  not  all,"  she  con- 
tinued, seeing  Rachel  suddenly  become  calmer  and  a 


422  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

look  of  indignation  beginning  to  make  its  appearance  on. 
her  pretty  face.  "  As  I  was  coming  home  I  met  Mr. 
Burton,  whom  I  know  by  sight,  going  up  the  Avenue, 
probably  on  his  way  to  visit  Miss  Billy  ;  and  as  he  passed 
me  he  was  looking  as  happy  as  a  lark,  and  was  humming 
4  Le  Sabre  de  mon  Pere  '  with  as  jovial  an  accent  as 
though  recollections  of  Tostee  were  floating  pleasantly 
through  his  head." 

u  He  couldn't  have  received  my  letter,"  stammered 
Rachel,  somewhat  taken  aback  by  this  report  of  the 
coolness  of  her  lover  under  the  injuries  she  had  done 
him.  "  I  know  that  he  was  very  much  affected  last 
night." 

66  Now,  my  dear,  begin  at  the  beginning  and  tell  me 
all  about  the  affair.  Then  I  shall  be  in  a  position  to  ad- 
vise you,  whereas  now  I  am  all  in  the  dark.  To  be  sure, 
I  have  never  been  in  love,  but  1  think  I  know  what  is 
due  to  a  woman  ;  yes,  and  what  is  due  to  a  man  under 
such  a  circumstance." 

"  Yes,  Til  tell  you  all.  But  I  must  begin  by  saying 
that  I  alone  am  to  blarne.  I  want  you  to  understand 
that  from  the  very  start,  and  to  bear  it  in  mind  all  the 
time  I  am  speaking." 

" 1  don't  believe  it.  You  are  not  talking  now  like  the 
strong-minded  woman  I  have  always  taken  you  to 
be." 

"  But  I'm  not  a  bit  strong-minded.  1  never  was,  and 
I'm  less  so  now  than  ever.  I  wish  I  had  never  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  woman's  rights.  If  I  had  kept  in  my 
proper  position  I  would  never  have  behaved  so  badly  to 
Tom." 

"  Oh,  it's  *  Tom,'  is  it  ?"  said  Miss  Richardson,  with 
a  smile.  "  Oh,  well,  perhaps,  then,  things  are  not  past 


CONSOLATIONS.  423 

cure.  Go  on,  my  dear.  Never  rnind  the  women  and 
their  rights  now.  Tell  me  all  about  this  sad  affair." 

"  Don't  laugh  at  me,  please,"  said  Rachel,  looking  as 
though  she  were  about  to  go  to  pieces  again.  "  I've 
been  very  wicked,  for  I've  made  two  people  unhappy." 

"  Ah  !  but  think.  You  may  have  made  two  very 
happy. ' ' 

"Who?" 

"  Why,  Mr.  Burton  and  the  '  Beast,'  I  suppose.  For 
1  have  to  guess,  since  you  won't  tell  me,  that  you  have 
jilted  him.  In  which  case  nothing  would  be  more  like 
a  man  than  for  him  to  propose  to  Billy  this  evening." 

"  Impossible  !  I  see  you  don't  know  him.  He 
would  absolutely  loathe  a  woman  like  her." 

u  After  marriage,  doubtless.  But  I  have  known  re- 
fined and  educated  and  high-toned  gentlemen  to  marry 
their  cooks  and  laundresses  after  being  jilted.  That's 
the  way  a  man's  broken  heart  generally  shows  itself. 
Now,  will  you  tell  me  all  about  it  ?" 

Rachel  told  the  whole  story  of  her  love  from  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end,  not  only  giving  the  facts,  but  her 
impressions,  and  leaving  out  nothing  that  tended  in  the 
slightest  degree  to  elucidate  the  situation.  "  Now,"  she 
continued,  as  she  described  the  scene  on  the  sidewalk  in 
front  of  Moultrie's  residence,  "  don't  you  think  I  have 
acted  very  badly  ?" 

"  My  dear  child,"  said  Miss  Richardson,  seriously, 
"  I  think  you  acted  foolishly  in  allowing  Mr.  Burton  to 
go  so  far  on  so  short  an  acquaintance.  But  having  done 
so,  and  if  you  were  really  in  love  with  him — and  on  that 
point  there  appears  to  be  no  doubt — I  am  of  the  opinion 
that  you  were  unnecessarily  harsh.  You  accepted  the 
terms  he  purposed,  and  in  doing  so  you  gave  him  to  un- 


424  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

derstand  that  you  would  say  the  words  he  put  into  your 
mouth.  It  was  too  late  then  for  you  to  think  that  you 
had  been  lightly  won." 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  know  all  that  now." 

"  But  certainly,"  continued  her  friend,  smiling,  u  he 
is  not  going  to  lose  a  treasure  like  you  for  a  little  thing 
like  that.  Your  note,  which  was  very  proper  under  the 
circumstances,  will  bring  him  back  to  you  if  he  is  worth 
having  and  he  really  loves  you.  He  may  hold  off  for  a 
day  or  two,  but,  depend  upon  it,  you  will  erelong  have 
him  at  your  feet  again,  more  in  love  than  ever." 

"  Do  you  really  think  so  ?" 

"  Do  I  think  so  ?     I  know  it." 

"  But  he's  going  to  Mexico,  and  may  not  come  back 
for  years." 

' i  He  will  settle  the  whole  matter  before  he  goes. 
You  have  done  all  that  it  is  proper  for  you  to  do  toward 
effecting  a  reconciliation.  It  would  lower  you  in  his 
estimation  if  you  were  to  make  any  further  advances. 
He  will  probably  answer  your  note.  Perhaps  he  will 
come  in  person.  Wait,  at  any  rate,  for  his  next  move." 

"  Perhaps  he  was  going  to  see  me  when  you  met  him 
on  Fifth  Avenue,"  said  poor  Rachel,  catching  at  a  straw. 

"No,"  rejoined  Miss  Richardson,  mercilessly,  "  he 
was  then  far  above  your  street.  But,  my  dear,"  she 
continued,  putting  her  arms  around  Rachel's  waist  and 
smiling  kindly,  "  he  was  really  looking  very  much  wor- 
ried, and  was  evidently  only  whistling  to  keep  his  cour- 
age up.  He  had  a  cane  in  his  hand,  and  he  was  switch- 
ing the  air  with  it  very  savagely  as  he  passed  me." 

"  Poor  Tom  !"  exclaimed  Rachel,  sadly  ;  "  1  am  sure 
he  is  very  miserable." 

"  '  Poor  Tom's   a-cold,' "  quoted   Miss  Richardson. 


CONSOLATIONS.  425 

"  If  he  is  still  walking  in  the  Park  as  fast  as  when  I  met 
him  he's  Warm  enough  by  this  time.  He  is  perfectly 
able  to  take  care  of  himself,  I  think.  Now,  I'll  tell 
you  what  I  think  you  ought  to  do.  Go  home  and  wait 
to-day  for  him,  or  his  answer  to  your  note.  Then,  if 
the  affair  is  not  arranged  to  your  satisfaction  by  to-night, 
go  out  of 'town  for  a  day  or  two.  Depend  upon  it,  you 
will  lose  nothing  in  his  estimation,  neither  will  you 
diminish  your  prospect  of  ultimate  happiness  by  this 
course.  I  see  by  this  morning's  papers  that  he  is  sum- 
moned to  Washington.  He  will  be  back  here,  without 
doubt,  before  he  goes  to  Mexico.  Special  envoys  don't 
leave  the  country  on  a  day's  notice.  Of  course,  if  he 
does  not  love  you,  or  if  his  love  is  no  stronger  than  milk 
and  water,  you  may  never  see  him  again.  In  which 
case,  I  hope  you  would  not  waste  a  thought  on  him, 
much  less  a  tear.  But  if  he  is  the  man  you  take  him  to 
be,  he  will  come  back  to  you,  my  dear,  loving  you  more 
fondly  than  ever. " 

"  Then  you  think  there  are  some  good  men  in  the 
world  ?" 

"  Good  men  in  the  world,"  said  Miss  Richardson, 
gazing  out  of  the  window  vacantly,  "  yes,  there  are  good 
men  in  the  world." 

"  And  you  have  known  some  yourself  ?" 

"I  knew  one,"  she  answered,  as  though  automati- 
cally. "  But  don't  ask  me  any  questions  about  the  men 
I  have  known,"  she  continued,  rousing  herself  with  a 
little  laugh.  "  It  is  your  man  we  are  talking  about,  and 
I  am  telling  you  how  to  get  him  back.  My  dear  child," 
she  went  on,  "I  think  your  '  Tom,'  as  you  call  him,  is 
a  good  man.  I  am  not  sure  that  a  good  man  isn't  better 
than  a  good  woman.  There  are  times  when  I  lose  faith 


426  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

in  my  own  sex.  But  not  in  you,  for  you  are  the  sweet- 
est and  the  gentlest  of  them  all.  You  said  just  now  that 
you  are  not  strong-minded.  Ah,  my  dear,  when  is  a 
woman  strongest  in  mind  ?  Is  it  not  when  she  can  gain 
the  pure,  mastering,  and  chivalrous  love  of  a  man  like 
your  Tom,  who  is  willing  to  lay  down  his  life  for  her  ? 
Don't  mind  what  I  said  just  now.  These  are  my  true 
sentiments.  I  knew  one  man  to  die  of  a  broken  heart  for 
the  woman  he  loved.  There,  there  !  go  home  now  and 
get  your  letter,  and  never  fear  but  that  all  will  be  well. 
Of  course,  we  shall  lose  you  from  the  ranks  of  those  who 
are  fighting  for  the  rights  of  women.  They  all  go  when 
a  man  comes  along  and  takes  them.  Look  at  Mrs. 
Moultrie  !  One  lecture,  and  then  a  resignation." 

"  It  was  a  splendid  lecture." 

"  Yes,  it  was  splendid,  and  she  is  a  glorious  woman. 
But  we  cannot  keep  such  as  she  with  us.  It  is  as  you 
said  the  other  day.  Only  widows  and  only  old  maids 
like  me  are  to  be  relied  upon,  and  I  wouldn't  trust  the 
widows  any  farther  than  1  could  see  them  ;  and  the  only 
old  maid  who  is  thoroughly  reliable  is  myself." 

Rachel  took  her  leave,  her  spirits  restored,  and  confi- 
dent that,  as  Miss  Richardson  had  told  her,  all  would 
come  right  between  herself  and  Burton.  She  had  never 
seen  her  friend  in  such  a  mood  before,  and  she  had  a 
little  suspicion  that,  notwithstanding  her  repeated  assev- 
erations to  the  contrary,  Miss  Richardson  had  once  upon 
a  time  been  in  love. 


CHAPTEE  XXII. 

LOSSES. 

WHEN  Rachel  arrived  at  the  "  Joan  of  Arc"  it  was 
nearly  one  o'clock,  and  she  found  her  mother  somewhat 
worried  in  regard  to  her  whereabouts.  She  had,  how- 
ever, left  word  that  she  was  going  for  a  walk  and  would 
not  be  home  to  breakfast,  so  that  there  was  no  great 
amount  of  anxiety.  She  often  did  that  very  thing  of 
starting  for  an  early  ramble  through  the  streets,  and  tak- 
ing her  breakfast  at  PurselFs.  It  gave  her  opportunity 
for  reflection  which  the  home  breakfast  did  not ;  for 
her  mother,  though,  as  I  have  said,  a  good  woman  and 
very  much  beloved  by  her  daughter,  had  several  little 
troublesome  peculiarities  which  Rachel,  when  her  mind 
was  preoccupied,  found  it  expedient  to  avoid  rather  than 
to  attempt  to  combat. 

She  entered  her  pretty  little  parlor,  and  there  on  her 
desk  was  Burton's  letter.  She  knew  it  at  once,  and  she 
opened  it  hurriedly,  with  mingled  feelings  of  pleasure 
and  apprehension.  After  she  had  taken  it  out  of  the 
envelope  she  stood  with  it  in  her  hand,  fearing  to  open 
the  single  fold,  and  trying  to  imagine  its  contents, 
though  she  knew  she  could  ascertain  them  in  a  few  sec- 
onds by  a  little  motion  of  her  fingers  and  a  glance  of  her 
eyes.  Finally  her  joy  seemed  to  predominate  ;  a  smile 
overspread  her  face,  and  a  rosy  blush  mantled  her 
cheeks.  "  I  know  he  loves  me,"  she  said,  scarcely 


428  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

above  her  breath.  "  Surely,  he  would  not  give  me  up 
for  a  single  fault,  when  I  have  repented  so  sincerely — 
and  then  he  is  so  kind  !  He  would  never  be  so  cruel  as 
I  was."  She  raised  the  single  fold  that  covered  the 
writing  and  read.  As  she  did  so  her  expression  changed, 
and  tears  which  she  did  not  try  to  repress  came  to  her 
eyes. 

"  My  poor,  dear  Tom  !"  she  exclaimed,  as  she  read 
the  short  note  again.  "  And  it  is  1  who  have  made  you 
so  unhappy.  Oh,  what  a  wicked  monster  I  am  !  His 
wound  bleeds  !  My  wound,  that  I  wantonly  gave  him 
when  his  heart  was  full  of  love  for  me — full  of  the  ex- 
pectation that  I  loved  him,  and  that  I  was  going  to  speak 
kindly  to  him.  Oh,  I  could  tear  my  eyes  out  with  shame 
and  grief  when  I  think  of  all  the  sorrow  I  have  caused  ! 
Mine  is  as  nothing  to  his  ;  I  am  suffering  justly.  It  is 
no  more  than  I  deserve,  but  he,  my  darling  !"  pressing, 
as  she  spoke,  his  note  to  her  lips,  "  if  I  could  only  go  to 
you,  how  gladly  would  1  do  so  !"  She  rose  from  her 
chair  and  hurriedly  paced  the  floor,  as  though  she  fret- 
ted at  the  idea  of  the  impossibility  of  her  rushing  into 
his  arms.  At  that  very  moment  the  Hon.  Tom  was 
seated  in  the  Central  Park  kissing  her  note  to  him,  and 
studying  the  paper  with  the  view  of  identifying  a  little 
spot  that  he  had  detected  on  the  surface,  and  which  he 
had  finally  determined  was  a  tear.  If  these  two  un- 
happy mortals  could  only  by  some  magical  power  have 
been  brought  together,  the  reader  would  be  spared  any 
further  details  of  their  history.  But,  unfortunately, 
there  was  no  way  of  doing  this,  for  the  one  was  in  the 
"  Joan  of  Arc,"  and  the  other  three  or  four  miles  dis- 
tant in  the  Central  Park.  Their  history  is  therefore  not 
yet  ended. 


LOSSES.  429 

It  was  evident  to  Kachel,  from  an  attentive  considera- 
tion of  Burton's  note,  that  for  the  present  he  did  not 
feel  equal  to  an  interview.  His  wound  was  still  bleed- 
ing, and  time  would  be  necessary  for  the  assuagement  of 
the  hemorrhage.  It  would  be  better  for  her,  therefore, 
to  follow  Miss  Richardson's  advice  and  go  into  the  coun- 
try for  a  few  days.  The  change,  too,  would  do  her 
good,  besides  enabling  her,  from  the  absence  of  those 
disturbing  factors  inseparable  from  a  city  life,  to  give 
more  thought  and  sympathy  to  her  "  poor,  suffering 
Tom."  Where  to  go  was  the  next  question,  and  on  this 
point  her  mother's  wishes,  if  she  could  succeed  in  induc- 
ing that  lady  to  consent  to  the  change,  would  exercise  a 
governing  influence. 

She  did  not  have  long  to  reflect  upon  the  matter,  for 
while  she  was  in  the  midst  of  her  cogitations  her  mother 
entered  the  room  in  a  state  of  great  excitement,  and 
holding  an  open  letter  in  her  hand. 

"  Oh,  Rachel,"  she  exclaimed,  "  we  are  ruined! 
All  our  little  fortune  is  gone  at  one  blow.  Read  that  ! 
What  we  are  to  do,  Heaven  only  knows  !"  She  sank 
into  a  chair,  while  Rachel,  scarcely  able  to  comprehend 
what  had  happened,  took  the  letter  and  read  as  follows  : 

"  157  WALL  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  ) 
November  20,  1874.      f 

"  DEAR  MADAM  :  A  short  time  before  his  death  Com- 
modore Meadows  invested  his  entire  fortune,  amounting 
to  about  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  in  the  stock 
of  the  '  Tillitudlum  Plate- Glass  Works,'  which  at  that 
time  were  doing  an  excellent  business,  and  which,  as  you 
know,  have  ever  since  paid  a  semi-annual  dividend  of  three 
per  cent,  or  a  total  of  about  three  thousand  dollars  a 


430  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

year.  Under  these  circumstances  I  did  not,  as  the  trus- 
tee under  his  will,  think  it  advisable  to  change  the  in- 
vestment, though  I  could  at  any  time  within  the  past 
BIX  months  have  sold  out  the  stock  at  par.  So  safe  did 
I  think  the  concern,  that,  in  accordance  with  her  re- 
quest, I  invested  ten  thousand  dollars  belonging  to  Miss 
Meadows  in  its  stock. 

"  But  I  have  just  received  a  visit  from  the  secretary, 
who  informs  me  that  there  will  be  no  dividend  for  the 
past  six  months  ;  that  the  company  has  lost  heavily,  is 
largely  in  debt,  and  that  it  has  been  deemed  advisable  to 
close  the  works,  and  to  wait  for  better  times.  This  un- 
fortunate state  of  affairs  has  been  induced  by  the  action 
of  Congress  at  its  last  session  in  reducing  the  duty  on 
plate-glass  to  such  a  low  rate  that  it  is  impossible  for  the 
American  industry — which  is  yet  in  its  infancy — to  con- 
tend with  the  foreign  manufacturers,  who  have  entered 
into  a  combination  to  undersell  the  American  producer 
with  the  hope  of  breaking  him  up,  even  if  they  lose 
money  in  the  attempt.  As  you  see,  their  efforts  are  be- 
ing crowned  with  success. 

"  You  could  get  very  little  for  your  stock  now,  and 
therefore  I  advise  you  not  to  sell.  Besides,  there  is  a 
possibility  that  Congress  will,  at  its  ensuing  session, 
restore  the  duty,  in  which  event  the  '  Tillitudlum  Plate- 
Glass  Works '  will  resume  operations,  and  all  will  again 
be  well. 

"  I  am,  very  respectfully  and  truly, 

u  ROBERT  PENGAVIN." 

"  Well,  mother,  it  is  bad,  to  be  sure,"  said  Rachel, 
"  but  it  is  not  death  to  us.  It  only  means  that  I  shall 
have  to  work  a  little  harder  than  usual.  1  was  begin- 


LOSSES.  431 

ning  to  reduce  the  number  of  my  lectures,  for  we  were 
getting  along  so  nicely  on  your  fortune  and  what  I  had 
saved,  that  it  wasn't  necessary  for  me  to  work  so  hard 
as  I  once  did.  But  now  I  shall  do  all  I  can.  I  am  sorry 
for  you,  mother,"  she  continued,  "  but  you  know  you 
shall  never  want  while  I  can  work.  We  shall  be  able  to 
live  here  just  the  same  as  though  nothing  had  happened, 
and  then,  you  know,  there  is  the  hope  of  which  Mr.  Pen- 
gavin  speaks,  that  Congress  will  restore  the  duty." 

She  embraced  her  mother  as  she  finished  talking,  and 
tried  to  comfort  her  by  soothing  speeches  ;  but  the  old 
lady  could  not  see  beyond  the  fact  that  her  fortune — two 
thirds  of  which  by  law  would  have  been  Rachel's  but  for 
the  Commodore's  will — was  apparently  gone,  and  she 
continued  to  sob  and  to  wipe  her  eyes  with  a  handker- 
chief already  wet  through  with  her  tears,  notwithstand- 
ing all  her  daughter's  efforts  to  quiet  her. 

But  when  Rachel  suggested  that  it  would  be  a  relief 
to  go  away  for  a  few  days,  Mrs.  Meadows  agreed  at  once 
to  the  proposition,  was  eager  to  get  out  of  the  city  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment,  and  although  she  continued  to 
sob,  she  went  about  the  work  of  getting  ready  with  a 
surprising  degree  of  alacrity.  Rachel  could  not,  how- 
ever, avoid  feeling  a  little  hurt  as  the  idea  occurred  to 
her  that,  as  often  as  she  had  gone  to  her  mother  with 
her  sorrows,  she  had  never  been  able  to  draw  out  a  single 
tear,  or  anything  more  than  some  commonplace  observa- 
tion about  trusting  in  Providence.  Now,  however,  the 
loss  of  a  few  thousands  of  dollars  threw  her  into  a  state 
of  uncontrollable  grief.  Her  mother  was  not,  then,  so 
impassive  as  she  thought  ;  she  was  impressionable  enough 
to  the  loss  of  her  money.  Where  to  go  was  the  next 
point  to  be  considered.  Happily,  while  they  were  con- 


432  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

juring  their  brains  over  the  matter,  a  note  arrived  from 
Miss  Richardson,  saying  that  she  had  determined  that  a 
little  change  would  benefit  her,  and  suggesting  that  they 
should  all  go  together  to  Babylon,  on  the  south  side  of 
Long  Island.  "  It's  a  little  cool,  perhaps,  at  the  sea- 
shore for  some  people,"  she  wrote,  "  but  I  have  often 
gone  down  there  at  this  time  of  the  year,  and  have 
found  it  delightful.  If  you  agree  to  this  plan  of  mine, 
come  round,  you  and  your  mother,  and  take  lunch  with 
me  at  two  o'clock.  The  train  leaves  at  four,  and  we 
can  go  to  the  Thirty-fourth  Street  ferry  direct  from  my 
house." 

This  was  very  agreeable  to  both  the  ladies,  though  it 
somewhat  hastened  their  preparations.  Rachel  wrote  a 
hurried  note  to  her  friend  accepting  the  invitation,  and 
soon  afterward  she  and  her  mother  were  seated  at  Miss 
Richardson's  hospitable  table.  At  six  o'clock  they  were 
sniffing  from  the  veranda  of  the  Watson  House  the  cool 
ocean  breeze  that  came  from  the  waters  of  the  Great 
South  Bay. 

The  next  morning  Burton  repaired  to  the  "  Joan  of 
Arc,"  but  the  janitor  only  knew  that  Miss  Meadows  and 
her  mother  had  left  the  house  shortly  before  two  o'  clock 
on  the  previous  afternoon ;  that  they  had  gone  out  of 
town,  "somewhere  on  Long  Island,"  he  believed,  but 
exactly  where  he  did  not  know  ;  and  they  would  be  ab- 
sent for  one  week.  "  By  that  time,"  said  Burton,  as  he 
walked  away  dejectedly,  "  I  shall  be  back  from  Wash- 
ington, will  have  delivered  my  lecture  in  Boston,  and 
will  have  all  the  time  I  want  to  devote  to  my  poor, 
suffering  Rachel. ' ' 

He  went  to  Washington  that  night,  and  the  following 
morning  had  an  interview  with  the  Secretary  of  State. 


LOSSES.  433 

The  questions  of  the  incursions  of  hostile  Indians  from 
the  Mexican  Republic  into  the  United  States,  and  that 
of  following  them  by  the  troops  of  the  latter  country, 
were  discussed,  and  Burton's  views  on  the  subject  were 
so  practical,  asd  apparently  were  such  as  both  countries 
would  agree  to,  that  the  Secretary  was  delighted. 
"  There  is  another  point,  Mr.  Burton,"  he  said,  as  he 
took  several  imposing-looking  documents  from  a  drawer 
in  his  desk,  "  that  the  President  is  very  anxious  to  have 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Mexican  Government ; 
and  that  is,  the  adoption  by  that  nation  of  a  treaty  which 
I  have  prepared  with  great  care,  and  which  I  propose  to 
submit  to  the  Senate  during  the  ensuing  session  of  Con- 
gress. The  President  and  I  are  both  of  the  opinion  that 
this  treaty  will,  if  ratified  by  the  high  contracting  par- 
ties, prove  mutually  advantageous,  and  it  is  hoped  that 
you  will  be  able  to  urge  it  successfully  on  the  Mexican 
Government.  Now,  how  soon  can  you  start  ?"  Burton 
reflected  for  a  moment,  and  then  said  that  he  thought  he 
could  be  ready  in  ten  days. 

"  That  will  do  very  well,"  said  the  Secretary.  "  Con- 
gress meets  next  Monday,  and  I  do  not  care  to  have  you 
go  before  that  time.  Perhaps,  even,  it  would  be  better 
to  delay  your  departure — say  to  the  20th  of  December. 
There  is  a  steamer  leaving  New  York  on  that  day.  1 
am  anxious  to  consult  with  several  prominent  senators 
and  others  relative  to  this  treaty,  and  they  have  not  yet 
arrived  in  Washington.  Yes,  1  think  we  may  fix  your 
departure  for  the  20th.  I  will  have  your  instructions 
ready  for  you  by  the  10th,  and  there  will,  therefore,  be 
time  for  any  explanation  of  them  that  you  may  require." 

"  Have  you  any  idea,"  inquired  Burton,  "  how  long 
I  shall  probably  be  absent  ?" 
19 


434  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Not  the  least.  These  Mexicans  move  slowly.  Prob- 
ably, however,"  after  a  little  reflection,  "  you  may  be 
gone  a  year." 

"  It  will  not  be  necessary  for  me  to  return  to  Wash- 
ington before  starting  ?" 

"  That  I  cannot  tell  at  present.  Should  it  become  so 
I  shall  telegraph  you.  Now,  as  you  will  probably  wish 
to  see  the  President  before  you  return,  and  as  I  know  he 
desires  to  see  you,  I  have  half  an  hour  at  your  disposal, 
and  will  go  with  you  to  the  White  House." 

But  the  President  was  so  deeply  interested  in  the 
Mexican  business  that  he  kept  Burton  considerably  over 
the  half  hour  that  the  Secretary  of  State  had  at  his  dis- 
posal. "  It  appears  to  me,  Mr.  Burton,"  said  his  Excel- 
lency, "  that  you  are  just  the  man  to  arrange  our  affairs 
with  Mexico  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  and  I  congratulate 
myself  on  the  good  fortune  that  lias  enabled  me  to 
secure  your  services  for  the  country." 

"If  it  is  no  secret,  your  Excellency,"  said  Burton, 
as  he  rose  to  take  his  departure,  "  I  would  like  to  know 
how  you  happened  to  think  of  me  in  connection  with  so 
important  an  appointment  ?" 

"  Oh,  you  must  ask  the  Secretary  about  that  !  I  ex- 
pect to  be  abused  by  the  party  press — that  is,  by  the 
press  of  my  party,  for  selecting  a  Democrat  for  such  a 
high  diplomatic  position.  Have  you  any  objection,  Mr. 
Secretary,"  he  continued,  turning  to  that  official,  "  to 
informing  Mr.  Burton  how  we  happened  to  pitch  upon 
him  ?" 

"  None  at  all,"  answered  the  Secretary,  laughing. 
1 '  When  it  became  necessary  to  send  some  one  to  Mexico 
to  represent  the  country,  and  the  President  requested 
me  to  make  a  nomination  to  him,  I  thought  at  once  of 


LOSSES.  435 

my  old  friend  Geoffrey  Moultrie,  of  New  York,  who  I 
knew  was,  from  his  long  residence  there,  acquainted 
with  the  principal  personages  of  the  country,  and  with 
the  traditions  and  prejudices  of  the  people.  I  wrote  to 
him  asking  if  he  could  be  induced  to  accept  the  place. 
But  he  replied  that,  having  just  been  elected  to  Congress 
on  a  special  issue,  he  did  not  see  his  way  clear  to  accept- 
ing any  office  that  would  require  him  to  resign  his  seat. 
Knowing  that  he  was  not  a  politician  in  the  party  sense 
of  the  word,  and  having  the  utmost  confidence  in  his 
honor  and  knowledge  of  men,  I  requested  him  to  sug- 
gest to  me  some  one  whom  he  knew  personally,  and  who 
in  his  opinion  would  perform  the  work  required  with 
fidelity  and  efficiency.  He  replied  at  once,  and  spoke  in 
such  high  terms  of  you  that,  in  conjunction  with  what  I 
know  of  you  from  your  general  reputation  as  a  member 
of  the  last  Congress,  there  was  no  doubt  in  my  mind  as 
to  my  duty  in  the  premises." 

"  And  you  may  add,  Mr.  Secretary,"  said  the  Presi- 
dent, laughing  in  turn,  "  that  the  moment  you  men- 
tioned Mr.  Burton's  name  1  recognized  him  as  the  gentle- 
man who  had  made  more  effective  speeches  against  my 
administration  than  any  other  of  my  political  opponents. 
1  thought,  after  reading  two  or  three  of  them  in  the 
Congressional  Globe,  that  the  man  who  could  discover  so 
many  weak  points  in  my  official  conduct  would  be  ad- 
mirably calculated  to  sift  thoroughly  any  matter  commit- 
ted to  his  charge,  and  then  Mr.  Moultrie' s  letter  settled 
the  point." 

"  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you,  Mr.  Secretary,  and 
especially  to  you,  Mr.  President,"  said  the  Hon.  Tom, 
somewhat  overcome  by  the  magnanimity  of  the  two 
high  officials,  "  f or  the  confidence  you  have  placed  in 


436  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

me.  It  will  be  my  constant  effort  to  see  that  it  is  not 
misplaced.  But,  Mr.  President,  I  have  never  questioned 
your  patriotism,  nor  have  I  ever,  having  in  mind  your 
great  services  to  the  country,  doubted  that  you  were  sin- 
cerely desirous  of  doing  full  justice  to  all  sections.  Be- 
sides," he  added,  with  one  of  his  handsome  smiles,  "  I 
have  always  stood  in  a  kind  of  wholesome  awe  of  your 
for  I  have  never  forgotten  that  I  was  one  of  the  garrison 
of  Vicksburg." 

"  Oh,  yes  !  You  were  there,  were  you  ?"  said  the 
President.  "  Well,  you  fought  like  heroes,  all  of  you. 
I  respect  every  man,  Mr.  Burton,  who  stood  up  bravely 
in  fair  fight  against  me.  But  how  is  it  that  you  are 
simply  '  Mr.'  Burton  ?  I  thought  every  man  in  the 
Confederacy  was  at  the  end  of  the  war  at  least  a  colonel." 

"  I  was  a  brigadier-general,  your  Excellency,"  said 
Burton.  "  But  I  dropped  my  military  title  as  soon  as 
the  war  was  over.  The  last  six  months  of  my  service 
were  spent  in  a  military  prison.  I  was  captured — •" 

"  Oh,"  exclaimed  the  President,  interrupting  and 
smiling,  "  are  you  the  General  Burton  who  was  cap- 
tured, with  his  whole  cavalry  command,  by  a  couple  of 
regiments  of  infantry  under  Sanders  ?" 

"  I  was  that  unfortunate  man,"  said  Burton  ;  "  and  I 
have  nothing  to  say  in  extenuation  except  that,  before 
that  I  had,  with  that  same  cavalry  command,  captured 
half  a  dozen  regiments  of  all  arms  of  the  service." 

"  Well,"  said  the  President,  eying  him  very  sharply, 
"  I  don't  think  you  will  let  the  Mexicans  surprise  you. 
If  you  do,  then  I  shall  cease  to  consider  myself  any 
longer  a  judge  of  men." 

"  So  I  owe  this  to  Moultrie,"  said  Burton,  as  he  sat 
in  his  section  of  a  palace  car  on  his  way  back  to  New 


LOSSES.  437 

York.  u  lie  has  been  better  than  his  word.  But  good- 
by  to  Venice  and  the  t  Venetian  Gondola  Manufacturing 
Company  '  for  the  present.  That's  a  thing  that  will 
keep,  I  think.  If  there  ever  was  money  in  anything  it's 
in  that  idea." 

He  went  to  bed,  and  awoke  to  find  himself  in  Jersey 
City  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  most  dismal  place 
at  that  hour  of  all  the  dismal  places  that  it  falls  to  the 
lot  of  the  traveller  to  visit. 

After  his  dinner  that  evening  he  went  up  to  Moul- 
trie's,  not  only  to  thank  his  friend  for  his  kind  offices  in 
his  behalf,  but  also  to  ascertain  if  they  had  any  informa- 
tion there  of  where  Rachel  had  gone.  He  found  the 
whole  family  at  home,  but  somewhat  unsettled,  as 
they  were  ready  to  go  to  Washington  on  the  following 
day. 

"  I  never  can  thank  you  sufficiently,"  he  said  to  Moul- 
trie,  after  he  had  exchanged  greetings  with  him  and 
Theodora  and  Lalage,  "  for  the  letter  you  wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  in  my  behalf.  1  never  should  have 
heard  of  it  from  you,  I  know ;  but  the  Secretary  was 
communicative  enough  to  tell  me  its  general  purport. 
Do  you  know,  my  friend,"  he  continued,  with  feeling, 
"  that  when  I  think  of  what  you  said  about  me  I  fear 
that  you  have  seriously  misunderstood  my  character.  1 
am  apprehensive  that  I  am  not  suited,  either  by  natural 
bent  or  by  education,  for  any  position  involving  judg- 
ment or  tact.  Now,  won't  you  tell  rue  honestly  in  just 
what  I  am  lacking,  or  in  what  I  am  redundant  ?  I  have 
no  false  pride  in  the  matter,  and  I  don't  mind  the  pres- 
ence of  Mrs.  Moultrie  or  Miss  Lalage.  Women  are 
very  observant,  and  while  I  don't  suppose  they  have 
paid  any  attention  to  me,  there  is  probably  some  fault  of 


438  A   STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

mine  that  they  have  observed,  and  that  I  hope  they  will 
be  good  enough  to  call  to  my  notice." 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  said  Moultrie,  laughing,  "  I  am 
quite  sure  that  you  are  better  suited  for  this  Mexican 
appointment  than  any  other  man  of  my  acquaintance. 
You  are  excellent  at  great  things.  It  is  only  the  little 
ones  that  seem  to  give  you  any  trouble." 

"  No,  it  is  worse  than  that.  There  is  something  radi- 
cally wrong  in  my  character,  but  I  am  not  competent  to 
detect  it  with  certainty.  You  know  it  is  a  legal  maxim 
that  '  No  man  is  a  judge  of  his  own  case,'  and  I  have 
noticed  that  the  same  principle  holds  good  in  medicine, 
as  physicians  never,  if  they  can  help  it,  prescribe  for 
themselves.  Now,  I  ask  you,  as  a  friend,  to  take  the 
knife  into  your  hand  and  cut  me  open  till  you  find  the 
disease,  if  it  is  not  so  obvious  that  exploration  is  not 
necessary.  I  don't  want  to  be  spared,  and  I  promise  to 
take  your  opinion  as  final,  and  to  set  to  work  honestly 
to  rectify  my  faults.  I  believe  in  a  man's  power  over 
himself  in  a  matter  of  this  kind,  and  I  think  I  have 
will-power  enough  to  apply  the  moral  cautery  to  any 
moral  ulcer  you  may  detect." 

"  My  dear  Burton,"  said  Moultrie,  "  you  ask  of  me 
no  more  than  one  friend  has  a  right  to  ask  of  another, 
and  knowing,  as  I  do,  your  thorough  sincerity,  I  think  it 
is  my  duty  to  give  you  my  impressions  of  your  character 
and  disposition.  Remember,  however,  that  they  are 
only  impressions  that  have  been  formed  from  rather  in- 
sufficient data  ;  for  although  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of 
you,  I  think  in  order  to  know  a  man  well  one  should  live 
with  him.  But  ever  since  I  first  knew  you — which,  you 
will  recollect,  was  soon  after  you  took  your  seat  in  the 
last  Congress — I  have  kept  you  under  close  observation  ; 


LOSSES.  439 

and  though  I  cannot  pretend  to  have  arrived  at  any 
great  degree  of  certainty  in  my  results,  I  will  give  you 
my  deductions  for  what  they  are  worth.  And  they  may 
all  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words.  You  lack  concentra- 
tiveness  ;  you  are  too  diffuse  ;  at  the  same  time,  when 
you  take  hold  of  a  matter  you  pursue  it  with  great  ardor 
for  a  while,  often  to  find  out  that  you  have  made  a  mis- 
take. You  detect  your  error  very  soon,  and  then  you 
retrace  your  steps  without  much  regard  to  the  conse- 
quences. When,  however,  you  are  sure  you  are  right, 
you  persevere  with  a  constancy  and  a  force  of  determina- 
tion that  are  almost  sure  to  result  in  success.  The  truth 
is,  that  you  don't  sufficiently  consider  before  you  enter 
upon  a  course  of  action.  If  you  did  this  you  would 
commit  fewer  errors,  and  you  would  be  remarkable  for 
the  accuracy  of  your  judgment  and  for  your  persever- 
ance. Now,  in  this  Mexican  matter  I  was  sure  you 
would  reflect  deeply  about  it,  and  when  your  serious 
thought  is  given  to  a  subject  nothing  more  can  be  asked. 
You  will  do  the  best  with  it  that  can  be  done. " 

"  I  think  you  have  got  at  the  truth,"  said  Burton, 
after  a  moment's  reflection,  u  and  I  am  eternally  obliged 
to  you.  But  I  think  I  am  really  worse  than  you  im- 
agine. I  have  done  some  very  foolish  things  lately — 
things  to  which  I  gave  no  consideration  at  all,  and  one  of 
which,  but  for  an  accidental  allusion,  would  have  led  to 
the  most  disastrous  results — the  blighting  of  my  whole 
life.  Still,  you  have  done  me  a  great  service,  and  I  thank 
you.  Now,  Mrs.  Moultrie,  may  I  ask  for  a  stroke  or 
two  of  your  knife,  or,  rather,  scissors  ?  The  judgment 
of  a  sensible  woman  or  two  would  be  of  inestimable  ser- 
vice to  me." 

Theodora  looked  at  her  husband  inquiringly. 


440  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  I  tliink  you  may  gratify  Mr.  Burton,  my  dear,"  lie 
said.  "  He  evidently  is  not  afraid  of  the  most  severe 
criticism.  If  you  know  anything  against  him  tell  him, 
by  all  means." 

' (  I  know  nothing  but  good  of  Mr.  Burton, ' '  answered 
Theodora,  smiling. 

"  Thanks,"  he  said  ;  "  but  that  is  because  you  don't 
know  everything  that  1  have  done.  But  I  am  here  now 
in  the  pillory,  and  I  want  you  all  to  throw  a  stone  at 
me.  Moultrie's  stone  is  i  diffuseness. '  I  am  spread  out 
over  too  large  a  surface.  I  am  like  a  piece  of  gold  that 
the  beater  thinks  he  will  make  cover  a  square  foot,  when 
it  is  only  fit  for  half  that  space.  As  a  consequence,  it  is 
too  thin  for  use.  That's  it— I'm  '  too  thin.'  Now, 
Mrs.  Moultrie,  I  really  want  you  to  throw  something. 
I'm  thoroughly  in  earnest.  From  this  night  on  I'm 
going  to  be  a  new  man,  and  my  improvement  is  to  be 
based  on  your  opinions." 

"  The  only  criticism  I  am  able  to  make,  Mr.  Burton," 
said  Theodora — u  and  I  make  it  with  some  reservation — 
is  that  perhaps  you  are  more  influenced  by  your  emotions 
than  is  sometimes  safe,  and  that  when  you  come  to  bring 
your  intellect  to  bear,  you  find  out  that  you  have  done 
something  that  does  not  meet  with  your  own  approval — 
and  yet  it  is  scarcely  proper  to  speak  of  this,  without 
qualification,  as  a  fault.  If  we  were  always  to  stop  to 
reflect  the  world  would  lose  most  of  the  noble  deeds  that 
are  daily  being  done.  If,  for  instance,  the  man  that 
sees  another  fall  into  the  water  were  to  stand  thinking 
whether  he  should  jump  in  after  him  or  not,  weighing 
all  the  arguments  for  and  against,  the  probability  is  that 
he  would  let  his  fellow-creature  drown.  The  man  who 
thinks  in  such  a  situation  doesn't  act ;  but  the  one  who, 


LOSSES.  441 

on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  acting  through  his  emo- 
tions, and  who  does  not  stop  to  consider  his  own  safety 
or  the  welfare  of  his  wife  and  children,  risks  his  own  life 
to  save  that  of  another.  Of  course  it  is  better  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  emotions  sometimes,  and  by  the  intellect  at 
others  ;  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  draw  the  line. 
Every  man,  I  suppose,  must  be  a  judge  for  himself.  I 
should  not  like  a  man  who  was  always  influenced  by  his 
intellect  and  never  by  his  emotions  ;  such  a  one  would 
necessarily  be  cold,  calculating,  and  selfish.  As  for 
women,"  she  continued,  smiling,  "  we  are  supposed  to 
be  always  governed  by  our  emotions,  and  not  to  use 
our  reason  at  all." 

"You  use  reason,  Mrs.  Moultrie,"  exclaimed  Burton, 
"  and  you  employ  it  to  good  effect,  too.  Between  you 
and  your  husband  I've  got  my  character  pretty  well 
mapped  out  for  me,  and  I'm  going  to  see  what  I  can  do 
to  improve  it.  But,  Miss  Moultrie,  have  you  nothing 
to  throw  at  me  ?  I  am  used  to  hard  knocks  by  this 
time.  Come,  I'm  still  in  the  pillory.  But,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  I  perceive  that  you  have  never  given  a  thought 
to  me.  So  I'll  step  down  from  the  pillory  with  my 
humble  thanks  to  the  kind  friends  who  have  pelted  me, 
and  with  the  reiteration  of  my  determination  to  turn 
over  a  new  leaf,  and,  as  the  Scripture  says,  '  To  do  my 
duty  in  that  state  of  life  to  which  it  has  pleased  God  to 
call  me.'" 

"  That  is  the  catechism,  Mr.  Burton,"  said  Lai,  smil- 
ing. 

"  So  it  is.  I  knew  I  had  seen  it  somewhere.  It  ap- 
pears to  me,  Miss  Moultrie,  that  you  are  looking  particu- 
larly good-natured  this  evening." 

"  I  have  never  been  cross  to  you,  have  I  ?" 


442  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  No  ;  you  are  very  sweet  to  every  one." 

"  If  you  had  heard  her  remarks  on  Miss  Gildersleeve 
the  other  morning,"  said  Theodora,  with  a  light  laugh, 
"  and  had  seen  the  savage  way  in  which  she  put  the 
Tattler  into  the  fire,  you  would  have  learned  that  she 
can  inject  a  little  acid  into  her  disposition  when  occasion 
requires." 

"  Lai  is  particularly  jolly  at  this  time,"  said  Moultrie, 
"  because  Mr.  Tyscovus,  a  very  dear  friend  of  hers, 
arrived  a  couple  of  days  ago.  He  dined  with  us  this 
evening  ;  but,  having  some  business  with  several  gentle- 
men from  Colorado,  was  obliged  to  leave  early.  I  want 
you  to  know  him.  By  the  by,  have  you  read  the  even- 
ing papers  ?  I  see  one  of  our  friends  has  met  with  a 
serious  loss.  You  remember  Miss  Meadows,  with  whom 
you  dined  here  last  week  ?" 

"  Yes  !"  exclaimed  Burton.  "I  was  about  to  ask 
where  she  had  gone.  What  about  her  ?" 

"  She  and  her  mother,  between  them,  have  lost  sixty 
thousand  dollars  by  the  collapse  of  the  *  Tillitudlurn 
Plate-Glass  Works.'  There's  a  full  account  of  the  fail- 
ure, with  a  list  of  the  stockholders,  in  the  Pinnacle.  It 
is  ascribed  to  the  reduction  of  the  duty  on  plate-glass  by 
the  late  Congress.  I'm  not  so  much  of  a  free-trader  as 
you  are,  you  know.  1  think  some  of  our  infant  indus- 
tries should  be  protected.  This  of  plate-glass  is  one  of 
them,  and  you  see  that  as  soon  as  the  duty  is  removed 
they  have  to  close  their  works. ' ' 

While  Moultrie  was  speaking  Burton's  face  had  as- 
sumed an  expression  of  chagrin  and  distress,  that  gave 
evidence  of  the  state  of  his  feelings  produced  by  the 
intelligence.  Moultrie  noticed  it,  and  attributed  it  to 
the  fact  that  Burton  had  lost  money  by  the  failure. 


LOSSES.  443 

"  I  didn't  know  you  were  interested  in  the  factory," 
he  said.  "  However,  it  is  well  to  know  these  things  as 
soon  as  possible." 

"No,"  said  Burton,  "  I  am  not  interested,  but  I  #m 
very  sorry  for  Miss  Meadows 's  loss  ;  and  it  is  all  my 
fault,  for  I  introduced  the  bill  reducing  the  duty  on 
plate-glass,  and  made  a  speech  in  its  favor.  It  seems 
that  my  capacity  for  doing  harm  is  unlimited,  and  this 
time  I  have  hurt  one  who  is  very  dear  to  me.  As  we 
say  in  Texas,  I  feel  as  though  I  ought  to  be  '  shot  with 
a  pack-saddle.' ' 

"  1  had  a  note  from  Miss  Meadows  to-day,  dated  from 
Babylon,"  said  Theodora.  "  She  went  down  there  with 
her  mother  and  Miss  Richardson  for  a  few  days.  She 
seems  to  be  taking  her  loss  with  great  equanimity,  for 
she  does  not  even  mention  it.  Unless,"  she  continued, 
taking  the  letter  from  the  table  and  reading  it,  "  this 
may  be  an  allusion  to  it.  i  I  find, '  she  says,  '  that  I 
shall  have  to  do  a  greater  amount  of  work  than  for  some 
time  past.  I  am  getting  up  a  new  lecture  on  "  Women 
in  Non-Christian  Nations."  I  find  it  a  very  interesting 
subject,  and  that  1  can  write  here  much  better  than  I  can 
in  town,  where  I  am  every  moment  liable  to  interrup-, 
tion.'" 

"  Mrs.  Moultrie,"  said  the  Hon.  Tom,  "  I  am  sure 
our  friends  here  will  allow  ine  to  say  a  few  words  to  you 
in  private.  Shall  we  go  into  the  library  ?  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  great  importance  that  I  must  communicate  to 
you." 

Theodora  signified  her  consent,  and  led  the  way  into 
the  library,  where  Burton  poured  into  Theodora's  sym- 
pathizing ear  the  whole  story  of  his  love,  his  rebuff,  his 
subsequent  conduct  with  Miss  Billy,  his  repentance,  his 


444  A    STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

present  unhappiness,  and  his  intense  desire  to  re-establish, 
his  relation  to  Rachel  as  her  accepted  husband. 

u  For  I  do  love  her,  Mrs.  Moultrie,"  he  continued. 
"  It's  about  the  only  thing  I'm  sure  of  now,  but  I  know 
that  as  well  as  I  know  that  I'm  alive.  I've  ruined  one 
of  the  most  important  industries  of  the  country  by  my 
tinkering  with  the  tariff,  and  caused  Rachel  to  lose  a 
large  sum  of  money.  I'm  going  to  study  that  question 
over  from  the  beginning ;  and  perhaps,  in  the  general 
reformatory  process  that  is  to  be  initiated,  I  may  change 
my  views  on  the  subject  of  free-trade.  But  in  the 
mean  time  help  me  to  straighten  out  things  with  Rachel." 

"  I  don't  see  how  there  can  be  any  difficulty  about  the 
matter.  You  love  her,  and  I  think  she  loves  you.  Her 
note  to  you  was  honest  undoubtedly  ;  for  she  is  not  a 
woman  to  play  false  deliberately  in  that  way.  You 
were  too  impulsive,  you  see.  You  bore  her  along  with 
you,  and  she  began  to  see  that  you  were  both  going  too 
fast ;  so  she,  in  her  effort  to  put  on  the  brakes,  exerted 
more  force  than  she  intended,  and  stopped  the  motion 
altogether." 

"  I  suppose  that  is  exactly  the  way  it  happened  ;  but 
,what  am  I  to  do  ?  1  can't  sit  quietly  and  let  her  drift 
away  from  me  entirely.  And  she  will  if  she  stays  down 
there  writing  a  lecture  and  I  go  to  Mexico." 

"  No,  you  can't  do  that,  and  I  am  willing  to  do  all  in 
my  power  to  bring  you  together  again.  What  shall  I 
do?" 

"  Oh,  Mrs.  Moultrie,  you  know  better  than  I  can  tell 
you.  I  place  my  fate  in  your  hands.  Do  what  you 
think  best." 

"  It  would  be  very  easy  for  me  to  telegraph  her,  asking 
whether  she  would  receive  you  if  you  came  to  Babylon — 


LOSSES.  445 

and  I  have  no  doubt  she  would  reply  in  the  affirmative — 
but  I  think  you  should  have  the  opportunity  for  becom- 
ing more  intimately  acquainted  with  each  other.  You 
have  had  no  courting,  and  thus  you  are  both  losing  what 
is  often  the  happiest  period  of  life.  As  you  know,  we 
go  to  Washington  to-morrow,  to  be  absent  all  winter. 
Now,  how  would  you  like  it  if  I  should  invite  Rachel  to 
spend  the  time  between  this  and  the  20th  of  Decem- 
ber— when  you  sail — with  me  in  Washington  ?  You 
will  have  business  there,  and  you  can  make  that 
city  your  headquarters  till  you  are  ready  to  go  to 
Mexico." 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Moultrie,"  exclaimed  Burton,  raising 
her  hand  to  his  lips,  "  you  are  an  angel  !  Nothing 
could  be  better  than  the  plan  you  propose." 

"  Then  we  will  consider  it  settled,  so  far  as  we  are 
concerned.  It  only  remains  now  to  get  Rachel's  con- 
sent.  A  letter  mailed  to-night  will  reach  her  to-morrow 
morning,  and  if  she  will  go  with  us  I  will  ask  Mr.  Moul- 
trie  to  delay  our  departure  a  day." 

"  You  have  made  me  very  happy.  I  begin  now  to 
see  everything  couleur  de  rose  again — as  it  was  that 
night  when  we  walked  together  from  the  piano  to  where 
you  were  sitting.  I  seemed  then,  as  some  poet  has  it, 
( to  walk  on  thrones. '  : 

"  I  saw  you  were  both  very  happy,"  said  Theodora, 
smiling,  "  but  I  had  no  idea  that  you  had  gone  so  far  as 
to  become  engaged.  Now,  I  must  send  you  back  to  Mr. 
and  Miss  Moultrie,  for  I  have  to  write  my  letter  to 
Rachel  and  mail  it  before  ten  o'clock." 

"  God  bless  you  !"  said  Burton.  "  How  sweet  some 
women  are  in  their  ways  !"  he  continued,  as  he  went 
into  the  drawing-room  ;  "  and  how  horribly  vulgar  others 


446  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

are  !"  he  added,  as  the  thought  of  his  experience  with 
Miss  Billy  Bremen  flashed  across  his  rnind. 

He  and  Moultrie  discussed  the  approaching  session  of 
Congress  and  the  Mexican  business  till  Theodora  re- 
turned with  her  letter.  "  I  have  asked  her  to  telegraph 
me  on  its  receipt,"  she  said.  "  If  you  will  stop  in  to- 
morrow morning  at  eleven  o'clock,  I  shall  probably  be 
able  to  tell  you  something  you  will  like  to  hear."  He 
rose  to  go.  "  You  shall  not  be  without  your  share  in 
the  good  work,"  she  continued,  smiling,  "  for  you  shall 
be  allowed  to  drop  this  into  the  letter-box  at  the 
corner." 

He  thanked  her,  arid  departed,  with  a  load  taken  off 
his  heart. 

The  next  morning  at  eleven  Theodora  showed  him  her 
answer.  "  A  thousand  thanks,"  it  said.  "  I  will  join 
you  with  pleasure,  according  to  your  arrangement. 
God  bless  you!"  "  You  see,"  continued  Theodora, 
"  that  the  proverb  '  Doubly  blessed  is  the  one  who  re- 
unites alienated  friends '  is  having  an  application  to 
me." 

"Yes,"  said  Burton.  "  '  Blessed  are  the  peace- 
makers, for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  ' 

"  I  thought,"  she  answered,  laughing,  "  that  it  was 
little  children  that  constituted  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ; 
but  I  have  no  doubt  that  there  are  plenty  of  peacemakers 
there." 

Then  it  was  settled  that  on  the  next  day  the  Moultries, 
with  Rachel,  should  go  to  Washington,  and  that  Burton 
might  go  at  any  time  he  pleased,  but  not  on  the  same 
train  with  them,  for  Theodora  intended  that  the  meeting 
between  the  two  separated  lovers  should  be  in  her  own 
house,  with  all  the  accessories  that  refinement  and  ele- 


LOSSES.  447 

gant  surroundings  could  give,  and  not  in  a  railway  car. 
Burton  finally  determined  that  he  would  go  that  night, 
and  he  agreed  that  he  would  not  call  till  he  received  an 
intimation  from  Mrs.  Moultrie  that  his  presence  was 
desirable. 


CHAPTEK  XXIII. 

DISCOVERIES. 

THE  south  side  of  Long  Island,  for  persons  who  are 
not  afraid  of  salt  air,  and  plenty  of  it,  is  a  delightful 
region  all  through  the  months  of  October  and  Novem- 
ber, and  often  far  into  December.  For  those  who  are 
fond  of  the  water  it  is  especially  so,  for  along  nearly  the 
whole  of  its  extent  runs  the  Great  South  Bay,  a  portion 
of  the  ocean  shut  off  from  the  main  body  of  the  "  great 
deep"  by  a  low  sandy  bar,  which,  under  different  names 
and  occasional  interruptions  of  its  continuity,  acts  as  a 
kind  of  natural  breakwater  to  the  force  of  the  huge 
waves  that  roll  in  from  the  south.  This  bar  is  not  high 
enough  to  shut  off  the  breezes,  and  hence,  so  far  as  the 
ocean  air  is  concerned,  there  is  as  much  of  it  on  the  coast 
of  Long  Island  as  though  no  sand  appeared  above  the 
surface  between  there  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  But 
it  makes  a  comparatively  smooth  and  placid  lake  out  of 
what  would  otherwise  be  as  turbid  a  piece  of  water  as 
any  other  part  of  the  ocean,  and  hence  is  particularly 
affected  by  those  who  like  to  sail  about  in  the  trim  little 
yachts  which  do  there  abound,  and  yet  do  not  wish  to 
run  the  risk  of  sea-sickness  or  shipwreck. 

The  morning  after  their  arrival  at  Babylon  Miss  Rich- 
ardson  and  Rachel  walked  down  to  the  landing,  a  dis- 
tance of  something  less  than  a  mile,  and  after  a  little  pre- 
liminary bargaining  engaged  the  "  Swan,"  a  sloop-yacht 


DISCOVERIES.  449 

commanded  by  Captain  Jabez  looker,  and  with  a  crew 
of  a  stout  boy,  his  son  Samuel,  for  a  voyage  to  "  Fire 
Island,"  as  that  part  of  the  bar  opposite  Babylon  is  called. 
Mrs.  Meadows,  having  recollections  of  the  Commodore 
still  in  her  memory,  hated  everything  of  the  semblance 
of  a  sea-going  craft.  She  was  probably  apprehensive 
that  in  some  way  or  other  quarter-deck  discipline  would 
be  enforced  upon  her  should  she  set  foot  on  anything 
that  went  upon  the  water.  So  she  expressed  such  a  de- 
cided preference  for  remaining  under  the  comfortable 
shelter  of  the  Watson  House,  that  not  even  the  tempta- 
tion of  a  breakfast  at  Mrs.  Dominick's  could  induce  her 
to  leave  it.  She  was  not  a  pleasant  companion  on  such 
excursions.  She  was  not  a  woman  who  was  able,  without 
grumbling,  to  adapt  herself  to  circumstances.  A  blue- 
fish,  though  cooked  five  minutes  after  its  exit  from  the 
water,  was  not  relished  by  her  unless  it  was  served  with 
all  the  accessories  of  fine  linen  and  china,  and  these  were 
not  to  be  had  on  Fire  Island.  So  the  two  younger  ladies 
started  off  by  themselves,  leaving  the  elder  one  to  the 
more  congenial  amusement  of  discussing  with  two  friends 
she  had  come  across,  the  comparative  excellences  and  de- 
fects of  their  respective  clergymen. 

There  was  a  fresh  wind  from  the  south  blowing  that 
morning,  and  the  little  craft  had  to  beat  against  it  as  it 
sailed  over  the  bay.  The  two  mariners  occupied  their 
respective  proper  positions — the  commander  at  the  wheel 
and  the  crew  forward — while  the  ladies,  carefully  wrapped 
up  in  shawls  and  cloaks,  sat  snugly  ensconced  in  the  lit- 
tle cabin.  Rachel  already  felt  better  for  the  change. 
There  was  something  here  to  take  her  thoughts  from 
herself,  or,  rather,  from  the  subjects  that  for  the  last 
few  days  had  occupied  them  to  the  exclusion  of  every 


450  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

other.  She  was  not  a  woman  who  was  inclined  to  be- 
come moody  or  morbid.  Her  temperament  was  natu- 
rally hopeful :  she  was  disposed  rather  to  see  the  bright 
than  the  dark  side  of  things,  and  to  bear  the  inevitable, 
when  she  was  satisfied  that  it  was  inevitable,  with  suffi- 
cient equanimity  and  with  a  determination  to  make  the 
best  of  it.  She  had  never,  even  when  in  the  depths  of 
her  self-reproaches,  lost  the  hope  that  in  some  way  or 
other,  and  sooner  or  later,  Burton  would  be  brought 
back  to  her  ;  and  the  beneficial  effects  that  she  was  ex- 
periencing from  the  change  of  air,  scene,  and  associa- 
tions were  not  exerted  in  causing  oblivion  of  what  had 
occurred,  or  in  benumbing  her  sensibilities,  but  in  in- 
creasing the  natural  elasticity  of  her  spirits,  and  in  en- 
abling her,  through  their  invigorating  influences,  to  be 
still  more  confident  that  all  would  yet  be  well. 

The  night  before,  she  and  Miss  Richardson  had  dis- 
cussed the  financial  problem,  which,  however  unimpor- 
tant it  might  seem  to  Rachel,  was  really  of  moment. 
The  suspension  of  the  Tillitudlum  Plate-Glass  Works 
had  entailed  a  loss  of  nearly  four  thousand  dollars  of 
their  yearly  income.  Rachel  had  about  two  thousand 
dollars  to  her  credit  in  the  bank,  and  this  was  all.  With- 
out any  more  than  a  pleasant  degree  of  exertion  she  had 
been  making,  for  the  last  two  or  three  years,  an  average 
of  three  thousand  dollars  a  year.  This  she  did  by  giving 
lectures  on  astronomy  to  several  prominent  schools  for 
young  ladies  in  New  York  and  the  neighboring  large 
cities,  and  by  writing  short  essays  and  stories  for  maga- 
zines. Her  lectures  required  scarcely  any  work  except 
that  of  giving  them,  for  the  subject  was  one  with  which 
she  was  perfectly  familiar,  and  the  writing  of  a  couple 
of  literary  compositions  every  month  was  a  labor  of 


DISCOVERIES,  451 

love.  But  now  all  this  was  changed.  Of  course  she 
and  her  mother  could  live  on  three  thousand  dollars  a 
year  ;  but  if  they  wanted  to  keep  up  their  present  mode 
of  life,  to  continue  to  occupy  their  apartments  in  the 
"  Joan  of  Arc,"  and,  above  all,  to  lay  by  something 
every  year,  she  must  manage,  in  some  way  or  other,  to 
double  her  present  income,  so  that  she  should  have  at 
least  six  thousand  dollars.  All  the  way  down  to  Baby- 
lon she  was  racking  her  brain  in  the  endeavor  to  find  a 
subject  for  a  short  course  of  lectures  that  should  be 
somewhat  above  the  range  of  those  she  had  heretofore 
delivered,  and  yet  not  so  abstruse  as  to  repel  the  great 
body  of  commonplace  individuals  who  desire  instruction 
at  the  least  possible  expense  to  their  reflective  powers — 
the  persons  whose  mental  organizations  cannot  digest 
strong  food,  but  who  require  a  sort  of  intellectual  beef- 
tea  that  they  can  take  in  and  assimilate  without  any 
severe  taxing  of  their  intellectual  digestion.  Rachel 
was  prepared  to  give  them  this  kind  of  food,  but  she 
meant  that  it  should  be  the  best  of  its  kind.  So  she 
puzzled  her  little  brain  (little,  I  desire  all  my  strong- 
minded  women  readers  to  bear  in  mind,  is  not  used  here 
in  its  meaning  of  an  adjective  indicating  small  size,  but 
as  one  expressing  endearment,  after  the  manner  of  the 
Spaniards  and  Italians,  and  for  which  there  is  ample 
warrant  among  English  and  Americans.  Rachel's  brain, 
I  may  as  well  say  at  once,  was  larger  in  the  essential  ele- 
ments for  making  mind,  and  of  far  better  quality,  than 
that  of  any  one  of  half  the  men  of  my  acquaintance)  in 
the  endeavor  to  hit  upon  a  subject  for  her  lectures  that 
would  be  interesting  and  instructive  to  the  people  that 
go  to  lectures,  and  that  would  constitute  a  basis  for  the 
mild  intellectual  pabulum  it  was  desirable  to  supply. 


452  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Railway  travelling  is,  as  every  one  knows,  conducive 
to  thought,  unless  there  is  some  pertinacious  wretch  near 
you  who  will  insist  on  talking  to  you,  arid  making  you 
strain  your  voice  in  yelling  back  at  him  ;  and  the  train 
had  not  gone  more  than  half  the  distance  to  Babylon 
before  the  topic  had  come  to  her,  and  in  a  sudden  way 
that  made  it  all  the  more  impressive.  "  Women  Out- 
side Christianity,"  or  some  such  title,  would  about  ex- 
press the  idea  that  came  into  her  head.  It  was  a  large 
theme  and  a  noble,  and  it  had  its  material  advantages  in 
the  fact  that  it  appealed  to  a  larger  class  than  had  any  of  the 
other  subjects  that  she  had  heretofore  ventured  to  discuss. 

But,  of  course,  for  the  preparation  of  a  series  of  three 
or  four  lectures  on  a  subject  such  as  the  one  she  had 
selected,  it  was  necessary  to  consult  many  authorities, 
such  as  could  only  be  found  in  a  large  library.  She  was 
an  "  alcove  reader"  in  the  Astor  Library,  and  was  in  the 
habit  of  frequenting  thai*  institution  armed  with  pencil 
and  paper-pad,  and  spending  whole  mornings  there  in 
making  notes  and  extracts  from  works  bearing  on  the 
particular  subjects  of  her  studies.  Of  course  she  could 
do  nothing  of  the  kind  at  Babylon,  and  hence  before  she 
had  arrived  at  that  place  she  was  already  desirous  of 
going  back.  But  she  could  do  this  :  she  could  arrange 
in  her  own  mind  the  general  scope  of  her  lectures,  and 
could  do  something  toward  the  composition  of  the  intro- 
ductory one,  without  the  necessity  of  consulting  authori- 
ties. Rachel  had  all  her  life  been  an  omnivorous  reader, 
and  she  had  given  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  the  subject 
of  the  development  of  the  social  status  of  woman  in  all 
ages  of  the  world  and  in  all  nations  during  the  historic 

O  ~ 

period.     She  was  an  excellent  linguist,  and  hence  her 
researches  had  not  been  confined  to  works  written  in  the 


DISCOVERIES.  453 

English  language,  but  had  embraced  the  literature  of 
France,  Germany,  Italy,  and  Spain. 

Moreover,  she  was  not  one  to  sit  down  and  make  a 
lecture  by  transcribing  the  words  of  different  authors 
and  connecting  them  with  a  narrow  thread  of  her  own 
ideas.  She  cited  authorities  for  the  support  of  views  she 
had  advanced,  or  in  opposition  thereto,  and  she  com- 
mented upon  them  with  a  freedom,  a  perspicuity,  and  a 
thoroughness  that  caused  the  listener  to  understand  that 
she  was  not  a  mere  compiler  of  other  people's  theories 
or  facts,  but  that  she  had  sufficient  intelligence  and  in- 
dependence to  have  views  of  her  own,  and  enough  com- 
mand of  language  to  express  them  in  a  lucid  and  agree- 
able manner. 

As  she  sat  in  the  little  cabin  on  her  way  to  Fire  Island 
to  taste  the  culinary  productions  of  Mrs.  Dominick,  she 
was  laying  out  the  plan  of  her  first  lecture,  which  she 
had  decided  should  present  a  succinct  view  of  the  posi- 
tion of  woman  among  the  ancient  Jews.  Her  reading  had 
taught  her  that  the  belief  so  generally  prevalent,  that  the 
sex  was  held  in  higher  honor  among  this  people  than 
among  Christians,  was  an  erroneous  one,  and  that  many 
most  unjust  and  degrading  practices  in  the  treatment  of 
women  were  engrafted  upon  the  Jewish  law,  to  be  ex- 
punged under  the  more  beneficent  dispensation  of  Christ. 
She  had  not  yet  mentioned  her  proposed  scheme  to  Miss 
Richardson,  but  now  she  laid  it  before  her,  and  went  off 
at  once  in  the  most  energetic  and  eloquent  manner  to 
talk  of  the  ideas  of  the  inferiority  of  woman  which  were 
held  by  Moses,  Abraham,  David,  and  Solomon,  and 
which  were  predominant  among  the  people  chosen  by 
God  from  among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  as  his 
special  favorites. 


454  A  STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

Miss  Richardson  listened  in  silence,  and  with  both 
pleasure  and  astonishment. 

"  You  are  a  wonderful  woman,  my  dear,"  she  said,  at 
last.  "  I  have  never  given  you  credit  for  half  your 
worth,  and  now  we  are  about  to  lose  you — you  who  can 
do  so  much  good  to  the  cause  of  poor,  suffering  woman 
all  the  world  over.  Of  course,  after  you  and  '  dear 
Tom  '  arrange  your  little  differences,  that  will  be  the 
end  of  you,  so  far  as  work  is  concerned." 

"  I  do  not  think  so,"  said  Rachel.  "  I  shall  do  more 
good  than  ever  if  I  shall  become  Tom's  wife.  What 
have  I  or  any  other  woman  done  by  lecturing,  more  than 
simply  to  amuse  and  instruct  ?  We  do  not  change  the 
opinions  of  a  single  man,  nor  do  we  add  to  the  happiness 
of  one  man  or  woman.  Now,  suppose  every  woman  in 
the  world  should  marry  a  man  with  the  intention  of 
making  him  happy,  and  were  to  live  up  to  her  purpose, 
don't  you  suppose  she  would  generally  succeed,  and  that 
she  would  at  the  same  time  secure  her  own  happiness  ?" 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha!"  laughed  Miss  Richardson;  "  as 
though  woman  had  nothing  else  to  do  in  the  world  than 
to  look  after  the  happiness  of  some  man.  If  a  woman 
has  a  brain — and  I  presume  her  possession  of  such  an 
organ  of  some  degree  of  development  is  not  doubted — 
even  though  it  be  ever  so  small  and  ever  so  deficient  in 
convolutions,  she  will  want  to  use  it  for  something  else 
than  looking  after  a  man's  happiness." 

"  But  in  looking  after  some  man's  happiness  she  is 
doing  the  best  possible  thing  to  secure  her  own.  So 
that,  even  from  a  selfish  standpoint,  she  cannot  do  bet- 
ter. However,  that  is  a  side  issue.  What  do  you  think 
of  my  plan  to  increase  my  income,  and  what  do  you 
think  of  my  proposed  first  lecture  ?" 


DISCOVERIES.  455 

Miss  Richardson  did  not  immediately  answer  these 
questions.  She  seemed  to  be  weighing  the  arguments 
arising  in  her  mind  for  and  against  both  of  Rachel's 
propositions. 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  I  think,"  she  said,  at  last.  "  1 
do  not  believe  that  you  will  ever  give  another  lecture  as 
long  as  you  live." 

"  Oh,"  exclaimed  Rachel,  blushing,  "  you  think  that 
before  1  can  deliver  another  I  shall  be  married  !" 

"  Yes,  that  is  exactly  what  I  think.  The  letter  that 
you  received  from  your  Tom,  and  of  which  you  told  me 
last  night,  shows  that  his  mental  condition  is  not  essen- 
tially different  from  yours.  Of  course,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, it  will  be  impossible  that  you  should  not 
meet  very  soon,  and  that  your  misunderstanding  should 
not  be  corrected.  Then  you  will  probably  agree  with 
your  Tom  that,  as  he  is  going  to  Mexico  for  an  indefinite 
period,  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  yield  to  his  solicita- 
tions, and  go  with  him  as  his  wife." 

"  That  is  what  I  should  like,"  said  Rachel,  frankly. 
"  My  dear  Amelia,"  she  continued,  "  I  am  tired  of  the 
life  I  have  been  leading  ever  since  I  became  a  woman. 
Not  the  working  part  of  it — that  I  like — but  the  isola- 
tion, the  loneliness,  and,  above  all,  the  thought  that  after 
a  few  years,  when  I  am  old,  I  shall  be  without  any  one 
in  all  the  world  to  care  for  me." 

' '  In  about  such  a  position  as  1  am  in  now. ' ' 

"  No,  I  did  not  mean  that ;  for  you  are  different ;  you 
do  not  care  for  the  society  of  men.  I  do  ;  or,  at  least,  I 
care  for  the  companionship  of  one  good  and  true  man, 
who  will  protect  and  love  me.  There  is  no  happiness  on 
earth,  to  my  mind,  comparable  to  that,  and  for  such  a 
man  1  am  willing  to  forego  everything  else." 


456  A   STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  You  carry  the  same  enthusiasm  into  your  love  affairs 
that  you  do  into  your  plans  for  lecturing,"  said  Miss 
Richardson,  somewhat  sarcastically. 

"  I  am  speaking,"  replied  Rachel,  with  just  enough 
elevation  in  her  voice  to  show  that  she  noticed  Miss 
Richardson's  tone,  "  exactly  as  all  women  who  are  in 
love  feel.  I  thought  you  liked  honest  words  from  me. 
But  if  I  am  too  free,  or  if  you  think  I  am  indelicate,  I 
shall  be  more  reserved.  You  invited  my  confidence, 
and  I  gave  it." 

"  Oh,  my  dear  child,  forgive  me!"  exclaimed  Miss 
Richardson.  "  I  am  a  cross  old  maid,  and  since  you 
have  spoken  so  honestly  to  me  I'll  be  equally  frank  with 
you.  I  am  envious  of  you — envious  of  your  happiness, 
envious  of  your  bright  young  life  all  before  you,  with  a 
man  worthy  of  you  and  whom  you  love — envious  of  your 
fresh  and  pure  heart,  and  of  all  the  ardor  and  earnestness 
with  which  you  speak,  showing  how  honest  and  truthful 
you  are  ;  yes,  I  am  even  envious  of  the  blush  that 
suffuses  your  cheeks  when  the  name  of  your  Tom  escapes 
your  lips.  But  not  meanly  so.  God  knows  I  would 
not  rob  you  of  a  single  one  of  your  charms,  or  of  your 
chances  for  a  life-long  happiness  !  But  when  I  see  you 
as  you  are,  the  thought  comes  into  my  mind  that  once  I 
was  like  you,  with  like  feelings  and  a  like  prospect 
of  happiness,  and  that  I  lost  it  all  through  my 
own  folly  and  wickedness — and  worse,  oh,  much  worse 
than  that ! — and  then  I  am  a  little  cross,  as  I  was 
just  now.  But  only  for  a  moment,  dear  ;  and  then  I 
am  ashamed  of  my  thoughts  and  words  ;  for  if  I  know 
myself,  I  know  that  I  am  sincerely  anxious  for  your 
happiness,  even  though  in  securing  it  1  have  to  lose 

you." 


DISCOVEKIES.  457 

"  Oh,  I  know  how  good  you  are,  and  now  I  have 
made  you  unhappy  !" 

"  No,  1  am  not  unhappy.  1  have  long  since  given 
up  all  such  ideas  of  happiness  as  I  once  had,  and  have 
sought  for  it,  and  with  fair  success,  in  other  directions. 
It  was  only  a  momentary  pang  which  your  sweet  frank- 
ness caused  me,  and  which  is  now  gone,  leaving  me 
none  the  worse,  I  trust,  and  certainly  none  the  less  anx- 
ious to  bring  you  and  your  Tom  together.  He'll  be  a 
fortunate  man,  my  dear,  when  he  gets  you,  and  if  he 
maltreats  you  my  curses  shall  follow  him,  even  should  he 
flee  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth." 

"  I  have  no  fears  on  that  score.  I  wish  you  knew 
him  ;  a  child  could  lead  him  with  kindness  ;  and  if  I 
am  ever  his  wife  I  mean  to  be  very  kind  to  him  in  all 
things." 

"  And  while  you  are  striving  to  make  him  happy  I 
shall  be  working  for  the  rights  of  my  sex.  Now,  I  will 
tell  you  a  secret.  I  have  written  a  play  which  is  an 
illustration  of  the  wrongs  that  women  suffer  at  the  hands 
of  men.  It  would  take  twenty  plays  to  cover  the  whole 
ground,  and  therefore  I  have  restricted  mine  to  a  single 
point — the  terrible  outrage  and  disregard  of  the  rights 
of  nature,  to  which  the  common  law  and  the  law  of  this 
great  State  of  New  York  subjects  her  when  it  deprives 
her  of  the  right  to  take  her  own  children  from  the  con- 
trol of  a  brutal  husband  and  father." 
»"  Yes,  that  is  very  hard." 
"  Hard  !  It  is  infamous  !  But  I  have  not  only  writ- 
ten the  play,  I  am  going  to  take  the  principal  part  and 
act  it." 

"  You  are  going  on  the  stage  ?" 

".Yes  ;  I  am  studying  the  character  of  '  Hester  Good- 
20 


458  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

ridge,'  and  in  a  few  days  I  shall  attend  the  first  rehearsal 
at  the  '  Protoplasmic  Theatre,'  where  the  play  will  be 
brought  out." 

"  You  astonish  me  very  much.  I  had  no  idea  you 
had  any  liking  for  the  stage." 

"  I  have  always  had  a  desire  to  be  an  actress,  and  now 
when  I  have  an  opportunity  of  appearing  in  a  drama  of 
my  own  composition,  I  am  delighted.  I  shall  not  only 
feel  that  I  am  rendering  good  service  to  the  cause  that  I 
have  so  much  at  heart,  but  I  shall  gratify  that  love  for 
being  before  the  public,  which  is  one  of  my  chief  pleas- 
ures. You  have  been  frank  with  me,  and  I  intend  to 
unbosom  myself  fully  in  regard  to  my  characteristics. 
I  court  applause.  I  love  an  honorable  notoriety.  I  am 
most  happy  when  I  am  before  a  large  audience,  receiving 
their  rapt  attention  or  their  heartfelt  plaudits.  I  could 
not  settle  down  into  a  humdrum  life  with  a  man,  and 
spend  my  days  in  looking  after  his  comforts  ;  and  the 
admiration,  the  attention,  the  devotion  of  one  man, 
would  not  satisfy  me.  I  crave  popularity.  I  like  to  see 
my  name  in  the  newspapers,  to  have  my  opinions  quoted 
and  commented  upon,  either  favorably  or  unfavorably  ; 
preferably  the  former,  of  course,  but  still  noticed.  Now 
you  see  what  a  very  vulgar  woman  you  have  for  your 
friend— one  who  seeks  to  please  the  multitude,  and  one, 
therefore,  who  stands  on  a  lower  plane  than  you  do,  my 
dear,  and  who  in  all  the  world  knows  but  one  person 
she  cares  to  specially  distinguish  from  the  crowd,  and 
that  is  you." 

"  Yes,  you  are  very  good  to  me  ;  but  I  am  sure  you 
are  doing  yourself  injustice.  You  are  exaggerating  the 
very  natural  love  that  you  and  almost  every  one  has  for 
the  good  opinion  of  their  fellows.  I  do  not  believe 


DISCOVERIES.  459 

there  is  any  unworthy  or  ignoble  tendency  in  you,  no 
matter  what  you  say." 

"  "Well,  I  shall  not  try  to  convince  you.  Come  !  we 
have  sat  here  long  enough  ;  let  us  go  on  deck,  get  a  whiff 
of  the  breeze  without  having  to  take  it  after  it  has 
passed  over  that  coil  of  tarred  rope,  and  see  where  we 
are.  We  cannot  be  very  far  from  Fire  Island." 

There  was  a  stiff  breeze  blowing,  and  the  little  vessel 
lay  so  far  over  on  her  beam-ends  as  it  struck  squarely 
against  its  mainsail,  that  the  two  women  found  it  some- 
what difficult  to  keep  their  feet.  Nevertheless,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  crew,  they  managed  to  get  to  the  wind- 
ward side  of  the  after-part  of  the  sloop,  and  to  sit  down 
on  the  cushioned  seat  that  ran  around  that  section. 
Looking  to  leeward,  they  saw  that  they  were  within  half 
a  mile  of  the  Fire  Island  wharf,  and  the  commander  in- 
formed them  that  they  were  sailing  direct  to  the  landing 
nearest  to  Mrs.  Dominick's,  which  he  expected  to  reach 
without  being  obliged  to  tack  again.  His  anticipation 
was  verified,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  friends  were 
walking  up  the  long  wooden  pier,  at  the  end  of  which 
was  the  unpretentious  domicile  of  Mrs.  Dominick,  which, 
though  an  insignificant,  not  to  say  repulsive,  looking 
place  from  the  outside,  was  full  of  the  good  things  that 
come  out  of  the  sea  ready  to  be  cooked  and  to  be  served 
without  disguising  and  perverting  French  sauces,  but 
with  the  accompaniments  of  good  bread,  sweet  butter, 
and  fresh  Long  Island  cream  and  eggs. 

As  they  had  each  taken  nothing  but  a  cup  of  coffee 
and  a  biscuit  before  leaving  the  Watson  House,  and  as  it 
was  yet  only  eleven  o'clock,  they  ordered  a  substantial 
breakfast  of  an  omelette,  stewed  oysters,  bluefish,  Sara- 
toga potatoes,  and  hot  rolls,  and  then  set  out  on  an  ex- 


460  A   STKONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

ploriiig  expedition  to  the  ocean  side  of  the  island.  They 
followed  the  board-walk  that  led  over  the  sand  to  the 
beach,  but  had  not  gone  more  than  half  the  distance 
when  they  saw  in  front  of  them  a  man  and  a  woman, 
who  had  come  along  a  branch  walk  that  led  from  a  little 
cottage  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  east  of  Mrs.  Domi- 
nick's  and  joined  the  main  thoroughfare.  The  couple 
were  talking  vigorously,  and  the  female  portion  was 
gesticulating  violently  and  stopping  every  now  and  then 
to  enforce  her  words  with  vicious  little  stamps  of  her 
foot.  The  man  seemed  to  be  expostulating  in  a  mild 
way,  for  he  frequently  threw  out  his  hands  with  the 
palms  upward,  in  the  deprecatory  manner  of  the  Latin 
races  of  Europe,  and  occasionally  shrugged  his  shoulders 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  quite  bury  his  ears  in  the  capa- 
cious fur  collar  of  his  overcoat.  He  was  short  and  thick, 
and  the  low,  soft  felt  hat  that  he  wore,  and  which  was 
battered  out  of  its  original  shape,  did  not  add  to  the 
dignity  of  his  appearance.  He  was  smoking  a  cigarette, 
not  of  the  very  best  quality  either,  and  as  the  wind  came 
from  the  south  it  blew  the  offensive  vapor,  after  it 
had  been  further  contaminated  with  the  emanations—- 
strongly garlicky — from  his  lungs,  right  into  the  faces 
of  Rachel  and  her  friend. 

"  Let  us  pass  those  nasty  people,"  said  Miss  Richard- 
son, angrily,  "  or  else  go  back.  Another  minute  of 
that  wretch's  smoke  will  destroy  all  my  appetite  for 
breakfast." 

They  hurried  forward,  but  as  they  approached  the 
man  and  woman  something  in  the  manner  and  walk  and 
general  "  get  up"  of  the  latter  forced  itself  upon  their 
attention,  and  at  the  same  instant  they  recognized  her  as 
Miss  Billy  Bremen. 


DISCOVERIES.  461 

"  My  little  Beast !"  exclaimed  Miss  Richardson,  while 
Rachel  shrank  back,  as  though  preparing  to  return  to 
Mrs.  Dominick's.  "  1  wonder  what  in  the  name  of  all 
that's  disgusting  brought  her  here  !  No,  no,  my  dear" — 
for  Rachel  was  still  holding  back — "  she  can't  eat  you, 
and  of  course  you  will  not  recognize  her.  Come,  let  us 
go  past  them  and  sit  down  on  a  bench  there  under  the 
shed." 

Reluctantly  Rachel  allowed  Miss  Richardson  to  draw 
her  along.  As  they  approached  the  excited  couple  it 
was  impossible  to  avoid  hearing  a  portion  of  their  con- 
versation. 

' i  You  told  me, ' '  said  Billy, ' (  that  you  would  go  away 
out  of  the  country  and  never  come  back,  provided  I  gave 
you  ten  thousand  dollars.  You  got  the  money,  and 
here  you  are  still.  You  are  the  same  old  liar  that  you 
always  were." 

u  Yes,  I  am  here,  todavia.  But,  que  quieres,  mi 
alma  f  Vat  do  you  vant  ?"  shrugging  his  shoulders  as 
he  spoke.  "  I  vas  ready  ;  I  go  in  twenty  minute,  muy 
pronto.  But  you  not  get  ze  man.  You  make  one  mis- 
erable failure,  seguramente.  I  am  mejor,  better  than  no 
man." 

"  No,  you  are  not.  I  want  you  to  go.  I  never  want 
to  lay  eyes  on  you  again." 

"  Ah,  mi  dulce  !  mi  car  a  bien  !  P  or  que  estas  tan 
dura  f  Yy  you  so  hard  vit  me  ?  Yo  te  amo — I  luff 
you,  con  todo  mi  corazon,  vit  my  heart  all." 

"  I  don't  want  your  love  !"  exclaimed  Billy,  snapping 
the  lingers  of  both  hands  in  the  air.  "  I  want  you  to  go 
back  to  Cuba,  as  you  promised.  Now,  will  you  go  ?" 

"  No  !  Nunca.  Nevair  !  Tuesmimujer.  My  vife. 
1  vill  not  go.  Aqui  estoy  !  and  here  I  vill  stay,"  with 


462  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

which  words  the  man  jumped  from  the  board-walk  to 
the  sand,  into  which  his  feet  sank  till  they  were  covered, 
and  it  really  looked  as  though  they  were  rooted  to  the 
earth. 

At  that  instant  Miss  Richardson  and  Rachel  passed 
them  unrecognized  by  Billy,  for  she  was  facing  the  in- 
dignant Cuban,  and  evidently  getting  ready  to  give  him 
very  emphatically  some  more  of  her  ideas  as  to  his  future 
conduct. 

"  Well,"  said  Miss  Richardson,  as  soon  as  they  were 
out  of  ear-shot  of  the  contending  parties,  "  did  you 
ever  hear  anything  to  equal  that  in  all  your  life  ?  She's 
married  to  him  !  And  evidently  trying  to  get  rid  of 
him  in  order  that  she  may  marry  another  man  and  run 
no  risk  of  a  prosecution  for  bigamy.  Didn't  I  tell  you 
she  was  a  beast  ?  I  saw  what  she  wras  when  she  treated 
you  so  outrageously.  I  saw  it  in  her  eye,  and  now  it  is 
evident  to  you,  even  if  you  didn't  take  my  word  for  it 
before. ' ' 

"  Yes,  the  man  is  certainly  her  husband.  She  did 
not  deny  being  his  wife  when  he  called  her  so,  and  he 
seems  determined  to  stick  to  her." 

"  It's  all  very  horrible.  Probably  she's  been  married 
to  him  a  long  time,  and  here  she  has  been  imposing  upon 
us  as  a  single  woman,  and  affecting  to  hate  the  very 
sight  of  a  man  !  I've  known  traitors  to  the  cause  be- 
fore this,  but  she's  the  very  worst  specimen  of  a  fraud 
that  I  ever  came  across.  Oh,  how  such  women  sicken 
me  with  human  nature  !  A  bad  woman  is,  as  I  think 
you  once  said,  my  dear,  worse  than  a  bad  man.  Prob- 
ably because  we  expect  more  from  a  woman,  and  are 
more  shocked  when  we  find  her  wicked  and  degraded. 
But  it  has  sometimes  appeared  to  me  that  there  are 


DISCOVERIES.  463 

depths  of  brutality  and  pollution  into  which  women 
sometimes  fall  that  man  at  his  worst  never  reaches." 

"  That  may  be,  but  such  cases  are  altogether  excep- 
tional. Mr.  Burton  said  the  other  night  at  dinner  that 
women  were  better  than  men,  and  Mr.  Moultrie  agreed 
with  him  that  if  women  could  govern  the  world  it  would 
certainly  be  more  moral  than  it  is  now. " 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that.  Look  at  the  monsters  of 
iniquity  in  the  guise  of  women  that  have  sat  on  thrones 
within  the  historic  period.  Look  at  Semiramis,  Cleo- 
patra, the  two  Catherines — in  fact,  all  the  empresses  of 
Russia,  Isabella  of  Spain,  and  many  more  that  were 
worse  than  the  men  of  their  times  that  were  sovereigns. 
The  fact  is,  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  it  is  not  always 
dangerous  to  place  women  in  power.  I  would  not  trust 
myself.  If  I  were  an  autocratrix  I  would  probably  do 
what  I  pleased,  regardless  of  abstract  justice.  And  one 
of  my  first  acts,  if  I  were  to  be  this  instant  invested 
with  absolute  power,  would  be  to  have  that  little  Beast 
carried  out  to  sea  and  drowned." 

"  What's  the  matter  with  you  to-day  ?"  said  Rachel, 
laughing.  "  I  have  never  before  seen  you  in  such  a 
humor.  You  seem  to  have  got  up  with  your  left  foot 
foremost,  and  the  sight  of  the  '  Beast,'  as  you  call  her, 
has  aggravated  you  into  saying  things  that  are  contrary 
to  everything  you  have  heretofore  said." 

"  Well,  never  mind  what  I  say  to-day,"  rejoined  Miss 
Richardson,  with  a  smile  that  was  not  without  a  tinge  of 
sadness.  "  That  woman  has  upset  me,  I  admit.  She 
is  here  for  no  good.  I  suppose  that  man  lives  here,  and 
she  has  come  down  to  see  him.  Evidently  she  is  his 
wife.  I  didn't  get  a  sight  of  his  face,  but  if  one  may 
judge  by  his  back  and  his  general  appearance  I  should 


464  A   STRONG -MINDED   WOMAN. 

say  he  was  the  keeper  of  a  cigar  shop  in  the  Bowery,  or 
perhaps  the  janitor  of  a  gambling  house.  In  either  case 
he  would  be  too  good  for  her." 

"  Sit  down  here,"  said  Rachel,  as  they  reached  the 
shed,  "  and  let  the  ocean  breezes  cool  your  brain." 

There  were  several  rustic  benches,  more  picturesque 
than  comfortable,  and  on  one  of  these  the  two  friends 
sat.  Meanwhile  Billy  and  her  man  had  apparently  made 
up  their  differences,  and  were  seen  going  back  arm-in- 
arm toward  the  building — scarcely  attaining  a  dignity 
above  that  of  a  shanty — into  which  they  entered. 

u  I  want  you  to  come  to  the  rehearsals  of  my  play," 
said  Miss  Richardson  at  last,  after  the  two  had  sat  in 
silence  for  several  minutes,  "  and  I  want  you  to  criticise 
not  only  the  playwright,  but  the  actress.  As  regards 
the  play,  I  have  the  assistance  of  Miss  Durant,  who  is 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  technique  of  the  stage, 
and  to  whose  assistance  1  owe  the  fact  that  the  situations 
are  striking,  and  the  scenery  and  dresses  in  keeping. 
Then,  as  she  is  such  an  accomplished  actress,  I  found  I 
could  not  do  better  than  have  her  put  me  in  training  ;  so 
for  the  last  six  months  or  more  I  have  been  taking  pri- 
vate lessons  in  stage  manners.  Of  course  my  experience 
as  a  public  lecturer  has  been  of  service  to  me." 

"  Certainly  I'll  come.  Won't  you  tell  me  something 
of  the  play  ?" 

"  No,  I  think  not.  I  would  rather  you  would  see  and 
hear  it  on  the  stage  first.  Then  you  can  read  it  after- 
ward. You  observe  I  did  not  invite  you  to  come  to  a 
full  public  performance.  1  never  waste  civilities.  By 
the  time  it  is  produced  you  will  be  in  Mexico  as  the  wife 
of  Special  Envoy  the  Hon.  Tom  Burton." 

Rachel  laughed  merrily  at  this  speech.     "  You  are 


DISCOVERIES.  465 

taking  time  by  the  forelock,"  she  said.  "  There's  a 
good  deal  to  be  done  yet  before  I  am  married,  and," 
she  added,  seriously,  "  there  may  come  many  things  to 
prevent  me  ever  meeting  Tom  again." 

4 'Well,  now,  I  think  we  have  had  enough  salt  air, 
my  dear,  and  if  it's  all  the  same  to  you  we'll  go  back 
and  get  our  breakfast.  I'm  as  hungry  as  a  Kussian  wolf 
in  midwinter,  and  visions  of  that  broiled  bluefish  which 
an  hour  ago  was  disporting  itself  in  the  waters  of  the 
Great  South  Bay  are  floating  before  me." 

They  rose  and  walked  briskly  along  the  board-walk 
that  led  to  Mrs.  Dominick's.  The  cool  wind  and  the 
exercise  had  deepened  the  color  on  the  cheeks  of  both 
the  women,  and  the  salt  air  had,  as  Miss  Richardson  said, 
given  them  ravenous  appetites,  besides  quickening  their 
pulses  and  freshening  their  mental  powers.  Rachel 
thought  she  would  like  to  begin  then  to  study  her  lec- 
ture, for  she  had  rarely  felt  more  capable  of  intense  and 
sustained  thought  than  at  that  moment.  As  to  Miss 
Richardson,  Rachel  had  never  before  seen  her  in  a  more 
changeful  mood.  Evidently  the  conversation  relative  to 
her  troubles  with  Tom  had  revived  recollections  that  had 
for  a  long  time  been  kept  out  of  mind,  and  the  revivify- 
ing of  which  was  not  an  agreeable  process,  or  attended 
with  pleasant  results.  Then  she  thought  of  Tom  and  of 
the  possibility  of  their  ever  meeting  again,  and  of  the 
consequences  likely  to  follow  the  renewal  of  their  rela- 
tions if  they  should  meet.  They  approached  the  place 
where  the  two  quarrelsome  individuals  had  stood,  and 
where  the  man  had  jumped  down  into  the  sand. 

"  Is  that  a  card  lying  there  on  the  sand  ?"  said  Miss 
Richardson.  "  It  is  a  card.  Rachel,  my  dear,  get 
down  there  and  pick  it  up.  You  are  younger  than  I, 


466  A   STRONG-MINDED  WOMAN. 

and  my  innate  curiosity  is  too  great  to  let  a  find  like  that 
go  unnoticed." 

"  I  will  get  it,"  said  Kachel,  laughing  ;  "  but  as  a 
punishment  for  being  so  inquisitive  I  shall  not  show  it 
to  you  till  we  are  back  at  Babylon." 

She  leaped  lightly  down  on  the  sand,  a  distance  of  a 
couple  of  feet.  The  card  lay  with  its  face  downward. 
She  picked  it  up,  and  still  laughing,  put  it  into  her 
pocket  without  looking  at  it,  and  then  climbing  up  to 
the  platform  as  gracefully  as  such  an  act  could  be  per- 
formed, the  two  resumed  their  walk  to  their  breakfast. 

"  You  are  cruel,"  said  Miss  Kichardson,  "  and  the 
only  satisfaction  I  have  is  that  you  have  not  seen  it  yet 
yourself.  I  will  bet  you  a  pair  of  gloves  that  the  name 
is  either  Fernandez  or  Alvaraz.  But  you  are  not  to  look 
till  we  get  back  to  Babylon." 

< '  Done  !' '  said  Eachel.     '  <  I  take  the  bet. ' ' 

They  ate  their  breakfast  with  that  degree  of  avidity 
which  only  those  who  have  sailed  over  the  Great  South 
Bay  early  on  a  November  morning  can  understand. 
And  then  they  sailed  back  with  a  fair  wind  to  carry  the 
"  Swan"  to  her  destination.  Awaiting-  Rachel  on  the  table 
in  her  room  was  Mrs.  Moultrie's  letter  ;  she  read  it  with 
the  joy  which  only  a  woman  like  her,  capable  of  experi- 
encing love  in  its  intensest  form,  could  feel.  Then  she 
called  her  friend.  "  Listen,"  she  said,  as  she  read  an 
extract  from  the  letter. 

"  i  He  has  just  been  telling  me  the  whole  story.  My 
dear,  he  loves  you  with  all  his  heart.  Be  sure  of  that. 
He  is  so  honest  and  frank,  and  so  anxious  to  see  you 
again  and  "  make  up,"  as  the  children  say,  that  it  was 
hard  for  me  to  refrain  from  telling  him  to  go  to  Babylon 
to-morrow.  But  I  think  my  plan  is  the  best,  and  that 


DISCOVERIES.  467 

the  little  delay  will  do  him  good.  Telegraph  me,  then, 
at  once.' 

"  Of  course  I  shall  go.  Oh,  how  kind  she  is  !  Now 
you  see  what  a  good  woman  can  do  to  make  others 
happy.  Now  I  must  write  and  send  the  telegram  at 
once,  and  this  afternoon  I  must  go  back  to  New  York. 
She  says  her  carriage  will  meet  me  at  Hunter's  Point. 
How  good  she  is  !" 

Rachel  was  all  excitement  over  the  prospect  of  going 
to  Washington  and  of  again  meeting  Tom.  She  wrote 
and  despatched  her  telegram,  and  it  was  then  arranged 
that  Mrs.  Meadows  should  remain  at  Babylon  with  Miss 
Richardson  and  some  other  friends  she  had  discovered 
till  Rachel's  return. 

"  Now,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Richardson,  when  all  this 
business  had  been  attended  to,  "  stop  your  packing  for 
a  moment,  and  show  me  that  card." 

"  Oh  yes,  the  card  !"  exclaimed  Rachel.  u  I  had 
quite  forgotten  it."  She  took  it  from  her  pocket  and 
looked  at  it.  Then  her  face  became  very  pale  and 
grave.  With  a  manifest  effort  she  controlled  herself  and 
handed  it  to  Miss  Richardson.  "  You  owe  me  a  pair  of 
gloves,' '  she  said,  with  a  forced  smile.  Then  her  head 
seemed  to  reel,  she  dropped  into  a  chair,  and  covering 
her  face  with  her  hands,  burst  into  a  passion  of  tears. 

Miss  Richardson  took  the  card  and  read  : 


Mr.  Tom  Burton. 

Menhaden  Club. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A   MEETING. 

Miss  RICHARDSON  allowed  the  first  semi-hysterical 
burst  of  grief  to  have  its  full  sway  and  to  work  itself  off. 
There  was  a  certain  amount  of  pent-up  force  to  be  got- 
ten rid  of,  and  there  was  not,  according  to  her  ideas,  a 
safer  or  more  effectual  way  than  a  flood  of  tears.  It  was 
not  long  before  Rachel  became  calmer,  and  in  a  little 
while  she  dropped  her  hands  from  her  face  and  looked 
inquiringly  at  her  friend,  who  was  standing  near  by,  with 
Burton's  card  in  her  hand. 

"Now,  my  dear,"  said  Miss  Richardson,  "if  you 
have  become  sufficiently  calm  to  consider  this  matter  in 
cold  blood,  we  will  go  over  it  with  the  light  of  our 
positive  and  circumstantial  evidence,  and  endeavor  to 
understand  what  it  all  means.  In  the  first  place,  you 
heard  the  man  with  that  little  Beast  tell  her  that  she  had 
failed  to  get  the  man  she  was  trying  to  inveigle  into  her 
snare  ;  then  that  she  wished  very  much  to  get  him  out 
of  the  way  in  order,  doubtless,  that  she  might  continue 
the  seductive  process  ;  and  then  the  finding  of  Mr.  Bur- 
ton's card  causes  you  to  think  that  he  is  the  man  against 
whom  her  batteries  are  directed  ;  and  this  fear  is 
strengthened  by  the  knowledge  you  possess  that  he  dined 
with  her  a  night  or  two  ago.  Now,  my  dear,  that  is  all 
there  is  of  it,  and  I  must  say  that  I  think  you  have 
shown  a  very  decided  deficiency  in  the  good  sense  for 


A   MEETING.  469 

which  I  have  always  given  you  credit.  You  have  ex- 
ploded your  nerve-force  on  the  slightest  jar.  You  re- 
mind me  of  those  little  glass  balls  called  Prince  Rupert's 
drops,  which  fly  to  pieces  at  a  touch.  Suppose  he  is  the 
man  she  is  trying  to  get — and  I  think  that  is  very  likely 
— what  of  it  ?  You  can't  prevent  other  women  falling 
in  love  with  your  Tom  or  admiring  him.  You  ought  to 
feel  flattered  when  they  do  so,  for  it  is  the  highest  ap- 
preciation they  can  show  of  the  good  taste  you  yourself 
have  shown.  From  her  own  confession  she  has  not  suc- 
ceeded, and  if  she  could — the  Beast — get  him  away  from 
my  Beauty,  in  God's  name,  let  him  go  !  Oh,  you  little 
fool  !"  she  continued,  putting  her  arms  around  Rachel 
and  pressing  her  head  to  her  breast.  "  I  can't  help  lov- 
ing you  ;  but  if  I  thought  all  women  were  like  you  I'd 
give  up  contending  for  their  rights.  A  pretty  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  you'd  make." 

"  You  wouldn't  make  a  better  one,"  said  Rachel,  rais- 
ing her  eyes  with  a  smile.  "  You  said  this  morning  that 
you'd  drown  that  woman,  whether  she  were  guilty  or 
not." 

"•So  I  would  !  That  I'll  stick  to  through  thick  and 
thin,  whatever  that  may  be." 

"I  know  I  am  very  foolish,  but  the  shock  was  so  sud- 
den, and  caused  such  an  entire  revulsion,  that  I  could 
not  help  giving  way.  Mrs.  Moultrie's  letter  had  made 
me  so  happy,  and  then  came  this  discovery,  showing,  as 
I  thought  at  the  moment,  such  an  entirely  different  state 
of  affairs  from  that  which  I  had  'just  supposed  to  exist, 
that  my  brain  seemed  to  fail  me  utterly." 

"  The  truth  probably  is  that  the  card  was  the  one  he 
left  after  dining  with  her.  He  cannot  have  seen  much 
of  her." 


470  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  No  ;  for  Mrs.  Moultrie  states  in  her  letter  that  he 
went  to  Washington  the  next  day  but  one  after  we  met 
at  her  house,  and  that  he  had  returned  the  day  she 
wrote,  which  was  yesterday.  No,  he  cannot  have  seen 
much  of  her." 

"  Besides,  he  wants  you.  Mrs.  Moultrie's  letter 
makes  that  perfectly  apparent.  So  all  you  have  to  do  is 
to  go  to  New  York  in  time  to  join  them  when  they 
leave  for  Washington  to-morrow  morning." 

"  Mrs.  Moultrie  will  not  only  send  her  carriage  across 
the  ferry  to  meet  me,  but  she  insists  that  1  shall  come 
direct  to  her  house  and  stay  there  over-night.  Oh, 
Amelia  !"  she  continued,  throwing  her  arms  around  Miss 
Richardson's  neck,  "  I  am  so  happy,  and  I  am  such  a 
fool !" 

"  Whether  you're  happy  because  you  are  foolish,  or 
foolish  because  you're  happy,  doesn't,  1  suppose,  make 
much  difference.  You  are  what  the  intellectual  man 
calls  *  a  true  woman,'  and  by  '  a  true  woman  '  they  mean 
one  who — " 

"  Hasn't  got  any  sense,"  interrupted  Rachel,  her  face 
all  smiles  again.  u  Well,  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  I 
really  don't  think  I'm  quite  so  much  of  a  fool  as  I 
thought.  I've  been  able  to  get  my  own  living.  My 
life  has  not  been  altogether  a  useless  one.  In  fact,  I  am 
quite  sure  that  in  my  day  and  generation  I  have  done 
some  good.  If  I  had  never  done  anything  more  than 
teach  young  women  astronomy  I  should  not  have  lived 
in  vain.  But  1  don't  want  to  vote,  I  don't  want  an 
office.  I  wouldn't  be  a  Supreme  Court  judge  if  you'd 
go  down  on  your  bended  knees  and  beg  me.  On  those 
points  my  mind  has  undergone  a  revolution,  and  Tom 
has  done  it." 


A   MEETING.  471 

Miss  Kichardson  looked  at  her  with  an  expression  in 
which  it  was  evident  that  many  varied  emotions  were 
contending  for  the  mastery.  Love,  and  sorrow,  and 
regret,  and  perhaps  a  little  envy  were  there.  Then  she 
turned  away  without  a  word  and  left  the  room.  "  She  is 
one  of  those  women — *  true  women  '  they  are  called"  — 
she  thought,  as  she  went  along  the  long,  narrow  hall  to 
her  own  rooms,  "  who  yearn  for  a  baby's  lips  at  their 
breast.  The  maternal  instinct.  It  is  said  to  be  dying 
out  in  American  women.  I  wonder  if  it  is  quite  dead 
in  me  ?"  She  entered  her  room  without  answering  the 
question  she  had  put  to  herself,  and  seating  herself  at 
the  table,  began  a  letter  to  the  Woman's  Journal,  in 
which  she  took  the  most  advanced  views  relative  to 
woman's  suffrage,  which  she  declared  was  the  only  thing 
that  could  cause  the  sex  to  receive  the  respect  which 
comes  from  the  consciousness  of  equality  with  the  other 
sex.  "  When  we  have  to  make  the  laws  under  which 
we  live,"  she  wrote,  "  then,  and  not  till  then,  will  man 
yield  us  a  proper  kind  of  respect.  ISTo  respect  is  worth 
anything  that  is  not  based  upon  a  certain  amount  of 
healthy  fear.  Now,  when  we  wish  to  gain  a  point  from 
man  we  cajole  him.  Then  we  should  be  able  to  terror- 
ize him.  It  is  perhaps  a  sad  alternative  that  there  is  no 
other  way  by  which  he  can  be  made  to  render  justice  to 
a  long-oppressed  part  of  the  human  race." 

Eachel  in  the  mean  time  was  perfecting  her  arrange- 
ments for  leaving  Babylon  on  the  four-o'clock  train. 
Her  mother  was  willing  enough  to  stay,  and  willing 
enough,  also,  for  Kachel  to  go.  Though  there  was 
affection,  there  was  not  much  community  of  sentiment 
between  Mrs.  Meadows  and  her  daughter.  The  former 
was  a  chronic  complainer.  She  was  always  talking  of 


472  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

the  little  physical  ills — none  of  them  of  any  consequence 
— to  which  women  of  her  age  are  generally  more  or  less 
subject,  and  this  trait  rendered  her  an  unpleasant  com- 
panion to  any  one.  The  whole  world  has  agreed  to 
regard  the  persons  who  are  constantly  drawing  attention 
to  their  bodily  ailments  as  unmitigated  bores  ;  for  though 
some  cynic  has  said  that  there  is  no  one  who  does  not 
enjoy  the  misfortunes  of  his  friends,  this  proclivity  does 
not  extend  to  diseases.  The  loss  of  a  hundred  thousand 
dollars  on  the  part  of  a  person  dear  to  us,  his  failure  to 
get  an  office  for  which  he  was  an  applicant,  his  breaking 
down  in  a  speech  he  has  tried  to  deliver,  the  smash  up 
of  his  carriage,  his  slipping  down  in  the  mud  and  ruin- 
ing his  best  evening  suit,  may  each  and  all  cause  a  thrill 
of  joy  to  flash  through  our  hearts.  We  may  even  be 
mildly  hilarious  should  his  wife  elope  with  her  coach- 
man ;  but  when  we  hear  that  he  has  the  diphtheria  we 
are  truly  sorry  ;  and  when  he  himself  tells  us  of  his  aches 
and  pains,  so  far  from  feeling  any  satisfaction  at  his  mis- 
fortunes, we  are  distressed  and  annoyed.  It  was  danger- 
ous to  ask  Mrs.  Meadows  how  she  was  ;  for  the  impru- 
dent individual  that  ventured  on  this  benevolent  ques- 
tion was  certain  to  be  stopped,  even  though  his  breakfast 
were  waiting  for  him  and  getting  cold,  till  she  had  re- 
capitulated all  her  sensations  and  the  absence  of  sensa- 
tions with  which  she  had  been  afflicted  for  the  past 
twenty-four  hours.  In  addition  she  had  now  the  loss 
she  had  had  entailed  upon  her  by  the  stoppage  of  the 
Tillitudlum  Plate- Glass  Works.  She  inveighed  bitterly 
against  the  company  for  presuming  to  stop,  even  if  they 
were  losing  money,  and  especially  against  the  Govern- 
ment for  reducing  the  duty  on  plate-glass  to  such  a  low 
point  that  the  home  manufacturer  could  not  compete 


A   MEETING.  473 

with  the  "  pauper  labor"  of  Europe.  She  had  been 
talking  with  several  political  economists,  and  she  had 
read  articles  in  the  newspapers  on  the  subject,  and  she 
had  discovered  that  since  the  suspension  of  plate-glass 
factories  in  various  parts  of  the  country  the  price  of  the 
material  had  advanced  over  twenty  per  cent.  "  Now," 
she  said,  with  indignation  in  her  voice  and  tears  in  her 
eyes,  "  that  they  have  succeeded  in  crushing  an  infant 
American  industry,  they  have  put  up  the  price  to  just 
what  they  choose  to  make  it.  Now  perhaps  they'll  see 
the  propriety  of  putting  the  duty  back  to  where  it  was  ; 
or,  what  would  be  better  still,  making  it  prohibitory." 

So  at  four  o'clock  Kachel  took  her  departure,  Miss 
Richardson  going  with  her  in  the  omnibus  to  the  station, 
and  in  due  season  she  was  sitting  in  a  lovely  little  room 
talking  with  Theodora  in  regard  to  future  plans  in 
Washington.  Lalage  had  gone  for  a  ride  in  the  Park 
with  Tyscovus.  Their  love  affairs  were  going  on  swim- 
mingly. The  day  had  been  fixed  for  the  wedding,  and 
Theodora  had  a  latent  hope  springing  up  within  her  that 
it  might  be  within  the  range  of  possibility  to  have  the 
Hon.  Tom  Burton  and  Miss  Rachel  Meadows  married  at 
the  same  time.  This  she  kept  to  herself.  It  was  not 
quite  time  for  her  to  expose  her  plans  to  the  parties  most 
concerned. 

"  Mr.  Barton  went  to  Washington  this  morning,"  she 
said  to  Rachel.  "  I  had  a  short  note  from  him,  written 
just  before  he  started,  and  he  is  very  unhappy." 

"  Very  unhappy  !"  exclaimed  Rachel,  in  a  low  tone 
and  with  a  slight  blush,  for  she  thought  Theodora  alluded 
to  the  distress  he  felt  at  having  to  go  away  without  see- 
ing her. 

"  Yes  ;  and  he  authorizes  me  to  tell  you  all  about  the 


474  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

matter.     Perhaps  the  simplest  way  would  be  to  let  you 
read  his  note  ;"   so  saying  she  took  from  her  pocket  a 
letter,  and  handed  it  to  Rachel. 
Rachel  took  it  and  read  as  follows  : 

"  MENHADEN  CLUB,  November  28,  1874. 

"  MY  DEAR  MRS.  MOULTRIE  '.  I  am  trying  to  submit 
quietly  to  the  sentence  of  banishment  that  you  have 
imposed  upon  me,  though  it  is  with  great  difficulty  that 
I  refrain  from  staying  over  till  to-morrow  and  dropping 
in  this  evening  after  dinner."  ("  Poor  Tom,  I  wish  he 
had  !"  said  Rachel  to  herself.)  "  But  I  promised  to  go 
to  Washington,  and  before  you  get  this  I  shall  be  nearly 
half  way  there. 

"  What  I  wish  particularly  to  say  now  is  that  I  am 
very  unhappy  on  account  of  my  agency  in  having  the 
duty  on  plate-glass  reduced.  I  did  it,  and  1  thought  1 
was  doing  a  good  thing.  Now,  however,  I  find,  what  I 
did  not  know  before,  that  the  foreign  manufacturers 
have  combined  to  sell  plate-glass  at  a  price  below  the 
cost  of  manufacture  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the 
American  factories.  They  have  succeeded  to  a  great 
extent,  and  the  price  has  now  been  advanced,  and  will 
probably  go  still  higher.  This  is  an  effect  that  I  did 
not  anticipate,  and  that  has  opened  my  eyes  to  the  erro- 
neous character  of  many  of  my  tariff  notions. 

u  But  I  am  distressed  beyond  measure  at  the  loss  that 
has  happened  to  Rachel  and  her  mother,  and  for  which 
I  cannot  too  strongly  blame  myself.  Please  tell  her 
how  bitterly  I  regret  the  part  I  had  in  the  matter,  and 
assure  her  from  me,  that  immediately  on  my  arrival  in 
Washington  I  shall  go  to  work  to  undo  the  evil  I  have 
done.  1  shall  request  a  hearing  before  the  Committee 


A   MEETING.  475 

on  Ways  and  Means  of  the  House,  many  of  the  members 
of  which  I  know,  and  shall  submit  the  evidence  that  I 
have  in  my  possession  of  the  disastrous  effects  of  the 
change. 

"  1  suppose  it  would  scarcely  be  proper  to  make  this  a 
love-letter — to  .Rachel,  of  course — but  I  should  like  to 
do  so.  I  shall  be  at  the  Ebbitt  House,  anxiously  await- 
ing your  summons. 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

"ToM  BURTON." 

"  1  don't  care  a  bit  about  the  loss  of  the  money,"  said 
Rachel,  when  she  had  finished  reading  the  letter. 
"  What  a  kind  heart  he  has  !  I  am  sorry  he  should 
trouble  himself  about  it." 

"  It  will  give  him  something  to  do  till  he  sees  you. 
But  there  are  Lalage  and  Mr.  Tyscovus,  and  I  must  go 
and  dress  for  dinner.  We  dine  at  seven,  and  you  will 
have  an  opportunity  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  the 
dowager  Mrs.  Moultrie,  as  we  call  her.  This  is  our  last 
dinner  in  New  York  for  some  time  to  come,  and  she 
dines  with  us." 

Rachel  dressed  and  then  descended  to  the  drawing- 
room,  where  she  found  the  whole  company — Moultrie, 
Theodora,  Lalage,  Tyscovus,  and  the  dowager— assem- 
bled. Greetings  from  those  she  knew  and  introductions 
to  those  she  did  not  know  of  course  ensued,  and  then 
they  all  moved  in  to  dinner. 

"  Are  you  any  relation  to  the  Miss  Meadows  who  lec- 
tures ?"  said  the  dowager,  addressing  Rachel,  after  they 
were  seated  at  the  table. 

"  Miss  Meadows  is  the  Miss  Meadows  who  lectures," 
said  Moultrie,  answering  for  Rachel  before  she  could  do 


476  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

so  for  herself,  and  anxious  to  prevent  any  offensive  re- 
marks by  his  mother  by  showing  that  he  approved  of 
what  she  had  done  in  this  respect,  "  and  Miss  Meadows 
is  also  the  Miss  Meadows  who  writes,  and  whose  story, 
(  The  Mystery  of  Mrs.  Brown,'  in  the  Milky  Way,  you 
were  speaking  of  so  warmly  the  other  evening." 

"  Oh,"  exclaimed  the  dowager,  "  I  am  very  much 
delighted  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  so  distinguished  a 
young  lady.  In  my  day — " 

"  In  your  day,  mother,"  interrupted  Moultrie,  with  a 
smile,  but  with  a  snap  in  his  tone  that  warned  the  old 
lady  that  she  was  in  .danger  of  going  too  far — "  in  your 
day  young  ladies  didn't  know  enough  either  to  lecture  or 
to  write." 

"  I  read  '  The  Mystery  of  Mrs.  Brown  '  on  my  way 
here  from  St.  Louis,"  said  Tyscovus.  "  I  congratulate 
Miss  Meadows  on  having  produced  one  of  the  best  short 
stories  I  have  ever  read.  It  shows  a  wonderful  fertility 
of  imagination  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  human 
nature." 

"  I  am  so  glad  you  think  so,"  said  Rachel.  "  I  am 
very  anxious  to  become  a  good  writer,  and  I  think  I 
would  rather  be  the  author  of  a  successful  novel — one 
that  would  really  make  its  mark  in  the  world — than  have 
almost  any  other  distinction  granted  me." 

"  I  am  quite  sure  it  would  be  easy  for  you  to  obtain 
that  distinction.  You  certainly  possess  the  elements  of 
success  in  that  direction." 

"  There  is  room  for  a  great  novel,  and  for  any  number 
of  them,"  said  Moultrie.  "  There  are  three  classes  of 
novelists  who  are  now  engaging  attention  :  the  one  has 
imagination,  but  no  constructive  skill  or  knowledge  of 
human  nature  ;  the  second  has  constructive  skill,  but  no 


A   MEETING.  477 

knowledge  of  human  nature  and  no  imagination  ;  and 
the  third  has  no  imagination  or  constructive  skill,  or 
knowledge  of  human  nature.  The  fourth  class,  having 
all  these  requisites,  is  yet  to  come.  Till  it  does  we  shall 
have  no  great  novelists.  Miss  Meadows, ' '  he  continued, 
turning  to  Rachel,  "  I  greet  you  as  its  first  representa- 
tive." 

So  they  talked — all  but  Lai.  She  said  very  little,  un- 
less some  remark  were  addressed  to  her,  but  then  she 
answered  with  the  good  sense  and  directness  for  which 
she  was  noted  among  all  who  knew  her.  She  conversed 
easily  enough  with  one  person,  and  if  the  subject  were 
one  in  which  she  was  interested  and  which  she  under- 
stood, she  expressed  herself  with  remarkable  fluency. 
But  general  conversation  upon  matters  arising  at  the 
moment  was  somewhat  beyond  her,  and  as  to  small- talk, 
she  had  not  yet  acquired  the  facility  for  saying  bright 
things  about  nothing. 

The  next  morning  the  whole  party,  with  the  exception 
of  the  dowager,  took  the  limited  express  train  for  "Wash- 
ington. As  the  Moultrie  residence  was  not  quite  pre- 
pared for  their  occupation,  they  went,  with  the  exception 
of  Tyscovus,  to  the  Arlington,  where  suites  of  apart- 
ments had  been  engaged,  and  where  they  expected  to 
remain  for  a  week  or  ten  days.  Tyscovus,  with  a  degree 
'of  delicacy  rarely  seen  in  these  degenerate  days,  and 
which  perhaps  was  carrying  refinement  in  such  matters 
a  little  too  far,  went  to  another  hotel,  the  Ebbitt  House, 
where  he  soon  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Hon.  Tom 
•Burton,  who  had  been  twenty-four  hours  installed  in 
that  hostelry. 

At  first  Tyscovus  was  inclined  to  think  he  should 
never  become  an  admirer  of  the  Hon.  Tom.  He  was  so 


478  A    STEONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

unlike  all  the  men  that  he  had  yet  seen  that  he  was  un- 
prepared for  the  developments  that  burst  upon  him  every 
few  minutes.  During  his  residence  of  over  a  year  in 
Colorado  he  had  encountered  many  types  of  humanity 
that  were  new  to  him  ;  but  Burton  was  at  the  same  time 
the  most  original  and  the  most  intellectual  of  all  that  had 
hitherto  come  in  his  way.  There  appeared  to  be  a  won- 
derful aptitude  for  grasping  the  salient  points  of  a  sub- 
ject, but  yet  it  seemed  to  Tyscovus  that  he  seldom  went 
to  the  depths  of  anything.  He  took  off  the  foarn  and 
the  light  fluid  that  floated  at  the  top  of  the  beaker,  but 
the  heavier  liquid  at  the  bottom  he  did  not  reach. 

But  in  a  little  while  he  perceived  that  when  Burton 
took  a  personal  interest  in  a  subject  he  left  no  parts  of 
it  unexplored.  It  was  only  those  topics  for  which  he 
cared  nothing,  or  at  least  very  little,  that  he  did  not  attempt 
to  investigate  deeply,  and  that  he  discussed  more  out  of 
compliment  to  the  persons  with  whom  he  was  conversing 
than  from  other  motives.  He  thought  it  simple  polite- 
ness to  endeavor  to  show  that  no  subject  that  was  intro- 
duced was  indifferent  to  him,  and  hence  it  was  that  he 
had  something  to  say  that,  if  not  deep,  was  at  least  sen- 
sible in  regard  to  matters  that  most  others  would  have 
treated  with  silence.  Tyscovus  thought  he  had  never 
met  with  a  more  versatile  man,  or  one  with  greater 
facilities  of  expression. 

Congress  was  to  meet  on  the  next  day  but  one,  and 
already  the  city  was  filling  up  with  the  members  and 
their  constituents.  There  were  many  speculations  as  to 
with  which  party  Moultrie  would  affiliate.  The  Repub- 
licans and  Democrats  were  very  nearly  of  equal  force, 
and  each  was  desirous  of  securing  Moultrie.  Prominent 
members  of  each  of  these  organizations  suggested  to  him 


A   MEETING.  479 


the  propriety  of  uniting  witli  their  side  and  of  going  into 
their  caucus,  but  he  had  long  since  decided  that  he  would 
not  formally  unite  with  either  party.  On  all  questions 
that  came  up  he  should  vote  in  accordance  with  his  own 
views,  which  he  believed  agreed  with  those  of  the 
majority  of  his  constituents.  He  was  specially  elected 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  important  modifications  of 
the  tariff.  The  point  that  he  should  endeavor  to  secure 
was  that  of  the  free  importation  of  all  raw  materials  used 
in  our  manufacturing  industries.  Beyond  that  he  was 
not  at  present  prepared  to  go,  though  strongly  inclined 
to  abolish  protective  duties  where  protection  by  the  solid 
establishment  of  home  industries  was  no  longer  required. 

At  home,  at  all  elections  he  had  always  been  what  is 
called  a  "  scratcher" — that  is,  he  had  voted  for  the  men 
that  he  thought  were  best  fitted  for  the  offices  for  which 
they  were  nominated,  and  that  he  conceived  represented 
the  principles  that  ought  to  prevail  in  the  conduct  of  the 
Government,  no  matter  to  what  party  they  belonged. 
It  was  his  intention  to  act  in  precisely  the  same  way  in 
the  elections  necessary  to  the  organization  of  the  House. 

Tyscovus  had  a  good  deal  of  business  on  behalf  of  the 
Territory  he  represented  that  he  desired  to  bring  before 
Congress.  Having  only  the  right  to  speak,  without  that 
of  voting,  it  might  have  been  thought  by  some  that  his 
position  was  one  without  much  influence.  But,  on  the 
contrary,  being  relieved  from  service  on  committees, 
and  having  therefore  nothing  to  do  with  general  legisla- 
tion, he  was  enabled  to  give  his  whole  time  and  attention 
to  the  wants  of  Colorado,  a  Territory  which  he  was  sure 
would,  in  a  few  years,  be  knocking  at  the  door  for  ad- 
mission into  the  Union.  Questions  relative  to  mines,  to 
lands,  and  to  the  Indians  were  among  the  more  impor- 


480  A    STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

tant  of  those  that  he  had  to  bring  forward.  He  was 
brimful  of  facts  in  regard  to  each  of  them,  and  he  was 
so  apt  in  his  ability  to  present  his  views  clearly  and  pow- 
erfully before  an  audience,  that  no  one  who  knew  him 
doubted  that  he  would  make  a  strong  impression  upon 
Congress. 

And  then  he  was  at  last  about  to  be  married  to  the 
woman  whose  story  has  been  told  elsewhere,  and  whom 
the  better  he  knew  the  more  he  loved.  Since  his  arrival 
in  New  York  he  had  had  more  thorough  opportunities 
for  becoming  acquainted  with  her  than  he  had  enjoyed 
in  Colorado,  when  his  love  had  first  been  formed.  He 
had  found  that,  while  she  had  developed  wonderfully  in 
all  those  points  that  gave  additional  graces  to  her  lan- 
guage and  demeanor,  she  was  unchanged  in  those  quali- 
ties of  head  and  heart  that  had  first  so  strikingly  im- 
pressed themselves  upon  him.  In  a  few  days  she  would 
be  his  wife,  and  then,  when  the  session  was  over,  she 
would  go  back  with  him  to  his  home  on  the  butte,  a 
different  structure  altogether  from  the  humble  log-cabin 
in  which  he  had  first  seen  her  ;  and  she  a  wonderfully 
different  woman  from  the  uncouth,  half -clad  girl  who, 
as  Jim  Bosler's  daughter,  had  endeavored  to  shield  her 
supposed  father  from  the  consequences  of  the  crimes  she 
was  confident  he  would  commit. 

As  to  the  Hon.  Tom,  he  had  employed  his  time  since 
his  arrival  in  Washington  in  taking  long  walks  out  over 
the  hills  to  the  north,  during  which  the  Mexican  mission 
occupied  a  rather  remote  position  in  his  mind,  all  the 
advanced  stations  being  filled  with  thoughts  of  persons 
and  things  of  greater  and  more  immediate  importance. 
He  had  fully  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  press  for 
an  immediate  marriage  with  Rachel.  The  idea  of  going 


A   MEETING.  481 

to  Mexico  alone,  and  of  being  separated  from  her  for  a 
year  and  perhaps  longer,  was  so  repugnant  to  him  that 
he  had  determined  that  if  he  could  not,  through  his  own 
efforts  and  those  of  Mrs.  Moultrie — who  he  felt  was  his 
firm  ally — persuade  Kachel  into  yielding  to  his  wishes, 
he  would  resign  the  appointment. 

He  had  been  dining  with  the  Secretary  of  State,  and 
had  returned  to  his  hotel  well  satisfied  with  the  favorable 
impression  he  had  made  upon  that  functionary,  when, 
as  he  was  going  to  his  rooms,  to  which  he  had  invited 
Tyscovus  to  smoke  a  cigar,  the  clerk  handed  him  a  letter 
which  he  said  had  arrived  by  the  late  evening  mail. 
Burton  glanced  at  the  direction,  and  seeing  that  it  was 
from  Mr.  Roman,  whom  he  had  left  in  charge  of  his 
legal  business,  he  put  it  into  his  pocket,  intending  to 
read  it  at  his  leisure  in  his  own  apartment.  Arrived 
there,  he  sent  for  Tyscovus,  and  then  making  himself 
comfortable  in  dress  and  attitude,  he  took  out  the  letter 
he  had  just  received.  But  before  he  could  begin  to  read 
it  Tyscovus  entered  the  room,  and  the  two  continued  to 
talk  and  smoke  late  into  the  night.  It  was  twelve 
o'clock  when  he  took  his  departure  and  Burton  had  an 
opportunity  to  read  his  letter. 

But  the  letter  was  not  such  pleasant  reading  as  to  make 
him  desirous  of  receiving  more  like  it.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  caused  him  anger,  disgust,  fear,  and  several 
other  disagreeable  emotions.  It  was  to  the  effect  that 
early  that  morning  a  lawyer  whose  reputation  at  the  bar 
was  not  of  the  best  had  called  to  say  that  his  client,  Miss 
Billy  Bremen,  had  instructed  him  to  begin  a  suit  for 
damages  to  the  extent  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  against 
Burton  ;  but  that  she  was  desirous  to  avoid  the  scandal 
that  such  a  suit  would  produce,  and  was  not  without  the 
21 


482  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

hope  that  an  arrangement  could  be  made  by  wliicli  the 
necessity  for  its  initiation  could  be  obviated. 

"  Of  course,"  wrote  Mr.  Roman,  "I  could  say 
nothing.  I  simply  allowed  the  man  to  talk,  which  he 
did,  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  he  announced 
that  Miss  Bremen  was  sincerely  attached  to  you,  and  was 
willing  to  abandon  all  intention  of  a  suit  for  damages, 
provided  you  would  renew  your  promise  of  marriage, 
and  make  her  your  wife.  But  that  in  the  event  of  a  re- 
fusal, the  matter  would  be  brought  before  the  courts  at 
once,  and  vigorously  conducted  to  what  he  had  no  doubt 
would  be  a  successful  termination.  Knowing  nothing  of 
the  circumstances,  I  could  say  nothing  in  regard  to  your 
probable  course  of  action,  except  to  express  the  opinion 
that  you  were  not  a  man  to  be  threatened  into  doing  any- 
thing, and  that  I  would  communicate  with  you  at  once. 
Of  course,  you  know  that  you  cannot  be  served  while 
you  are  in  Washington,  and  I  am  under  the  impression 
that  your  diplomatic  position  protects  you  from  civil 
suits  in  any  part  of  the  country." 

"  There  is  but  one  thing  for  me  to  do,"  he  said,  after 
thoroughly  mastering  the  contents  of  the  letter,  "  and 
that  is  to  see  Rachel  at  once,  and  tell  her  of  the  whole 
affair,  from  beginning  to  end.  It  is  simply  an  attempt  at 
blackmail,  and  I  shall  immediately  go  back  to  New  York 
and  confront  the  vulgar  little  wretch. ' ' 

But  he  found  it  impossible  to  get  rid  of  the  matter  so 
easily.  Do  what  he  would  in  the  way  of  trying  to  under- 
rate it,  or  in  keeping  up  his  courage,  the  conviction 
forced  itself  upon  him  that  it  would,  if  persisted  in, 
prove  a  very  annoying  piece  of  business.  Of  course  the 
woman  had  attempted  a  fraud  upon  him,  but  it  was 
nevertheless  true  that  he  had  declared  his  readiness  in  a 


A   MEETING.  483 

certain  contingency  to  marry  her.  True,  she  had  de- 
clined his  proposition,  but  he  had  no  evidence  of  this  to 
present  beyond  his  own  statement,  and  none  on  any  point 
he  might  advance  in  his  behalf,  except  his  own  declara- 
tion. And  he  knew  enough  of  human  nature,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  nature  of  juries,  to  be  aware  that  if  Billy 
chose  to  swear,  regardless  of  the  sanctity  of  an  oath,  to 
anything  she  might  think  would  help  her  case,  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  public  and  of  the  twelve  men  in  the  box 
would  be  with  her,  not  him.  And  even  in  the  event  of 
her  losing  the  suit — and  that  would  be  an  exceedingly 
probable  result,  the  jury  failing  to  agree — the  affair 
would  be  exceedingly  disagreeable?  and  must  inevitably 
result  in  the  loss  of  a  part  of  his  prestige  as  a  sensible 
man.  He  would  be  made  a  laughing-stock  of  New  York 
and  of  the  country  at  large,  and  the  comic  papers,  always 
on  the  lookout  for  incidents  of  the  kind,  would  not  fail 
to  make  him  the  subject  of  caricature  and  would-be  witty 
remarks.  Yes,  certainly,  the  matter  had  its  disagreeable 
complications. 

He  passed  a  restless  night,  scarcely  sleeping  a  wink, 
tossing  restlessly  from  one  side  of  the  bed  to  the  other, 
his  mind  filled  with  the  thoughts  excited  by  the  scheme 
of  the  horrible  woman  whom  he  had,  in  a  moment  of  in- 
fatuation, proposed  to  marry.  For  this  act  of  weakness 
he  felt  that  he  could  never  forgive  himself  ;  and  what,  he 
asked  himself,  must  Bachel  Meadows  think  when  she 
heard  him  make  the  humiliating  confession  that  he  had 
asked  the  vulgar  little  butcheress  to  be  his  wife  ?  Gloss 
it  over  as  he  might,  he  knew  it  would  be  a  shock  to  her, 
and  that  he  must  suffer  in  her  estimation  as  a  man  of 
sense,  and,  perhaps,  even  in  her  love. 

He  rose  early,  took  a  hasty  breakfast,  and  then  started 


484  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

out  for  a  walk,  hoping  that  the  bracing  morning  air 
might  have  the  effect  of  cooling  his  brain  and  dissipating 
the  racking  headache  with  which  he  had  awakened.  He 
went  out  Connecticut  Avenue  as  far  as  the  street  ex- 
tended, and  then  across  to  Vermont  Avenue,  by  which 
he  returned  to  Lafayette  Square.  Here  he  sat  down  on 
one  of  the  benches  to  rest,  for  he  had  walked  briskly, 
and  felt  a  little  healthy  fatigue.  All  the  time  during  his 
walk  he  had  been  formulating  in  his  mind  the  course  of 
procedure  he  should  adopt  relative  to  communicating 
with  Rachel.  He  felt  that  every  moment  of  delay  now 
was  agony  to  him,  and  that  it  was  dangerous  to  allow 
any  time  to  be  lost  in  meeting  the  attack  that  had  been 
made.  Finally  he  had  determined  that  he  would  go  back 
to  his  hotel  and  send  a  note  to  Mrs.  Moultrie,  requesting 
her  permission  to  call  immediately  on  Rachel,  and  that 
after  he  had  arranged  matters  with  her  he  would  at  once 
return  to  New  York  and  face  the  horrid  woman  who  was 
endeavoring  to  force  him  into  marrying  her.  He  rose 
from  the  bench,  and  turned  to  retrace  his  steps  toward 
Vermont  Avenue,  when,  face  to  face  with  him,  and  not 
live  feet  from  where  he  stood,  was  Rachel  Meadows  !  Her 
first  impulse  seemed  to  be  to  turn  and  run  away  as  fast  as 
she  could  ;  but  he  had  seen  her  and  caught  her  eye,  and  es- 
cape was  impossible.  She  therefore  continued  her  course, 
and  he,  advancing,  raised  his  hat  and  held  out  his  hand. 
"  Good-morning,  Tom  !"  she  said,  as  she  laid  her 
hand  in  his,  while  a  smile  and  a  blush  appeared  on  her 
face.  "  You  are  very  kind  to  forgive  me  for  my  con- 
duct toward  you  the  other  night.  It  was  not  because  I 
did  not  love  you  ;  for  I  did,  Tom,  and  I  do  now  ;  but 
you  were  so  impetuous  and  I  was  so  taken  by  surprise 
that  I  thought— I  thought—" 


A  MEETING.  485 

"My  darling!"  interrupted  the  ecstatically  bewil- 
dered Burton,  raising  her  little  gloved  hand  to  his  lips. 
"  Forgive  you  !  It  is  I  who  need  forgiveness.  I  acted 
like  a  brute.  When  I  received  your  letter  I  ought  to 
have  gone  at  once  to  you,  and  then  there  would  have  been 
no  further  trouble.  Oh,  my  beauty  !  My  darling  !  how 
happy  your  honest,  frank,  and  gracious  speech  makes  me  ! " 

1 '  Then  you  love  me  as  much  as  you  did  when  you 
told  me  that  your  gondola  was  waiting  below  ?" 

"  A  thousand  times  more.  But  come  !  Take  a  few 
turns  around  the  square  with  me.  There  isn't  a  soul  in 
it,  and  we  can  talk  as  much  as  we  please." 

Rachel  readily  acceded  ;  and  when  they  had  discoursed 
sufficiently  of  their  feelings  for  each  other — at  least  suffi- 
ciently to  get  rid  of  the  superabundance  of  sentiment 
that  crowded  to  their  hearts  and  mouths — Burton,  in  his 
most  diplomatic  manner,  but  without  sparing  himself — 
and,  indeed,  he  felt  that  he  should  appeal  more  strongly 
to  Rachel's  tenderness  for  him  if  he  did  not  spare  him- 
self— began  the  story  of  his  affair  with  Billy  Bremen. 
He  told  it  so  well,  and  so  feelingly,  and  with  so  many 
self-reproaches,  that  before  he  was  half  through  Rachel 
laid  her  hand  on  his  arm.  He  gave  her  a  look  of  love 
and  thankfulness,  for  he  felt  that  the  victory  was  won, 
and  that  now  he  had  Rachel  as  an  ally  in  his  crusade 
against  Billy. 

"  What  a  horrid  woman  !"  said  Rachel,  when  he  had 
finished.  "  Oh,  Tom,  don't  think  that  I  love  you  any 
the  less  on  her  account !  I  love  you  more,  for  it  all 
shows  that  you  have  a  heart.  It  was  music  that  first 
brought  you  to  me,  dear." 

u  No,  darling  ;  I  loved  you  when  I  first  saw  you.  It 
wasn't  that  awful  woman  I  loved,  but  her  music,  and 


486  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

that,  for  the  moment,  bewildered  me.  You're  an  angel !" 
he  continued,  as  he  thought  of  her  continued  love  for 
him,  notwithstanding  his  escapade  with  Billy.  "  And 
now  I've  got  to  leave  you  and  go  back  to  New  York  to 
fight  that  woman  !  I  think  when  she  finds  that  I  would 
rather  be  thrown  into  the  bottomless  pit,  '  where  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth,'  than  marry  her,  she  will 
give  up  the  attack." 

"  But  you  won't  have  to  go  back  to  New  York  !"  ex- 
claimed Rachel,  as  she  thought  of  the  knowledge  of 
Billy  she  had  obtained  on  the  beach  at  Fire  Island. 
"  She's  married,  and  I've  seen  her  husband  !" 

"  Married  !" 

"  Yes  ;  there's  no  doubt  of  it ;  I  heard  the  conversation 
between  her  and  her  husband  about  her  designs  on  you." 
Then  Rachel  told  all  she  knew  of  Billy  and  her  male 
companion,  who  was  doubtless  her  husband. 

The  whole  matter  was  a  revelation  and  a  relief  to  the 
Hon.  Tom,  who,  of  course,  had  nothing  to  fear  from  a 
suit  for  breach  of  promise  of  marriage  brought  by  a  mar- 
ried woman. 

"  Still,"  he  said,  "  I  think  I  had  better  return  imme- 
diately, armed  with  the  information  you  have  given  me. 
It  will  be  sufficient  to  crush  her  at  once,  and  all  her 
blackmailing  operations  with  her." 

"  It  would  be  bigamy,  wouldn't  it,"  said  Rachel,  "  if 
she  was  to  marry  you  2" 

"  Yes  ;  and  that's  a  penitentiary  offence.  She  won't 
want  to  risk  the  State's  prison  when  she  is  made  aware 
that  I  know  she  has  a  husband  living." 

"  And  such  a  horrid-looking  man,  too  !"  exclaimed 
Rachel,  surveying  her  Tom,  with  admiration  depicted  in 
her  pretty,  soft  brown  eyes. 


A   MEETING.  487 

"  Don't  you  think  I'd  better  go  home  with  you  now, 
and  then  we  can  sit  and  talk  together,  and  I'll  not  leave 
till  the  night  train  ?" 

"  How  surprised  Mrs.  Moultrie  will  be  !"  exclaimed 
Rachel.  "  She  was  going  to  write  a  note  to  you  to-day 
asking  you  to  come  round  this  evening,  but  I  think  this 
is  much  better.  It's  so  much  less  formal." 

"  I  don't  know  about  the  less  formality,"  said  Burton, 
ruefully.  "  It  seems  to  me  that  there's  more  here  than 
there  would  have  been  if  we  had  had  Mrs.  Moultrie's 
parlor  to  ourselves.  Still,  it  is  delightful  to  meet  you 
here  or  anywhere,  and  to  look  at  your  sweet  face  and 
hear  your  loving  words.  I  was  in  the  depths  of  misery 
till  1  looked  up  and  saw  the  sun  that  was  to  dispel  all  my 
clouds." 

So  they  talked  as  lovers  have  talked  before  since  the 
creation  of  the  world,  and  as  they  will  talk  to  its  end. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"ALL'S  WELL  THAT  ENDS  WELL." 

BURTON  had  never  yet  had  an  opportunity  of  kissing 
Rachel,  and  the  first  thing  he  did  on  entering  Mrs. 
Moultrie's  snug  little  parlor  was  to  clasp  her  in  his  arms, 
while  he  imprinted  kiss  after  kiss  on  her  lips,  accom- 
panied with  many  exclamations  of  her  being  his  "  dar- 
ling," his  "  dear  love,"  "  the  sweetest  girl  that  ever  was 
born,"  and  so  on  through  the  gamut  of  endearments  that 
all  lovers  know  so  well.  Finally  Rachel  released  herself. 

"  Now,  sir,"  she  said,  with  a  smile  that  showed  that 
Burton's  proceedings  had  not  been  displeasing  to  her, 
u  please  to  behave  yourself  for  the  rest  of  the  morning, 
at  any  rate.  See  how  you've  ruined  iny  hat  !  This 
feather  is  crushed  into  all  kinds  of  shapes,  and  there  isn't 
a  place  in  Washington  where  I  can  get  another  like  it. " 

"  I'll  send  you  a  bird  of  paradise  from  New  York  as 
soon  as  I  get  there,  and  in  the  mean  time,  as  things  about 
the  hat  can't  apparently  be  any  worse  than  they  are  now, 
I'll—" 

He  did  not  finish  the  speech.  Actions  sometimes 
speak  louder  than  words. 

"  Oh,  Tom  !"  exclaimed  Rachel,  as  soon  as  she  could 
get  a  chance  to  speak,  and  throwing  her  arms  around  his 
neck,  "  I  think  I  am  the  happiest  woman  in  all  the 
world,  and  you  do  love  me,  don't  you  ?" 

"  Love  you  !"    exclaimed  the  love-intoxicated  Tom, 


"ALL'S  WELL  THAT  ENDS  WELL."          489 

si  I  adore  you  ;  I  think  you  the  sweetest,  the  prettiest, 
the  brightest  little  woman  God  ever  made  !" 

"  But  1  am  not  so  little,  Tom  ;  I  am  five  feet  five. 
And  you  ?  You're  a  splendid-looking  man." 

"  I'm  six  feet  two,"  said  the  Hon.  Tom,  self-com- 
placently,  "and,"  he  added,  "  stout  in  proportion. " 

"Did  you  ever  fight?"  inquired  Rachel,  looking  at 
him  admiringly,  and  with  the  consciousness  of  possession 
that  a  child  has  when  it  critically  examines  a  new  toy. 
"I  don't  mean  in  battle.  That  I  know  you've  done; 
but  I  mean  a  fight  with  a  man  about  anything." 

"  I  knocked  a  man  down  once." 

«  Did— did  it  kill  him  ?" 

"Well,  no,"  said  the  Hon.  Tom,  stroking  his  mus- 
tache, "  it  didn't  exactly  kill  him,  but  it  hurt  him  a  good 
deal." 

"  The  horrid  wretch  !     What  had  he  done  ?' ' 

"  Well,"  answered  the  honorable  gentleman,  with 
some  little  hesitation,  "  he  was  making  a  speech  against 
me  when  I  ran  for  Congress,  and  he  said  I  was  a  '  hum- 
bug.' When  he  had  finished  I  asked  him  what  he 
meant,  and  as  his  answer  was  not  so  satisfactory  as  I 
thought  it  ought  to  have  been,  I  knocked  him  down." 

"  I  wonder  you  didn't  kill  him  !"  said  Rachel,  indig- 
nantly. "  Oh,  Tom,"  she  continued,  somewhat  illogi- 
cally,  but  burying  her  face  in  his  shirt-front,  l  i  suppose 
he  had  killed  you  !  What  a  miserable  woman  I  should 
have  been  !" 

Of  course  Tom  consoled  her  after  his  fashion,  which 
was  a  very  pleasant  fashion  to  both  of  them. 

"  Now  I  really  must  take  off  my  things,"  said  Rachel, 
again  releasing  herself.  "  Good  gracious  !"  she  con- 
tinued, as  she  picked  up  a  letter  from  the  table, 


490  A   STRONG-MINDED    WOMAN. 

' '  here  has  this  been  lying  all  the  time,  and  I  never  saw 
it !" 

"  No,  but  you've  seen  something  a  good  deal  better. 
You've  seen  the  inside  of  my  heart." 

"  Yes,  dear  ;  but  stop  one  moment,"  said  Rachel, 
who  had  begun  to  read  her  letter.  "  This  is  very  won- 
derful !  Shall  I  read  it  to  you  ?  Oh,  Tom,  it  looks  as 
if  everything  was  coming  right  !  The  horrid  woman  !" 

"  Yes,  sit  here  on  the  sofa  by  me  and  read  it.  Then 
perhaps  I  shall  be  able  to  understand  it  better  than  I  do 
from  what  you  have  let  fall." 

"  It  is  from  my  friend,  Miss  Richardson, "  said  Rachel, 
complying  with  Burton's  request.  "  And  perhaps  you 
won't  have  to  go  to  New  York,  after  all.  The  horrid, 
horrid  woman  !"  Then  she  read  as  follows  : 

"  BABYLON,  November  30,  1874. 

"  MY  DEAR  RACHEL  :  1  write  because  I  have  impor- 
tant matters  to  communicate  to  you,  and  which  I  think 
will  give  you  great  satisfaction.  "When  I  can  do  any- 
thing to  make  you  happy,  my  Beauty,  I  am  always  anx- 
ious to  do  it  at  once. 

"  This  morning,  while  I  was  busy  on  my  letter  to  the 
Woman's  Journal,  the  servant  brought  me  a  card  on 
which  was  inscribed  the  name  of  '  Miss  Billy  Bremen. '  I 
sent  back  word  to  say  that  I  was  engaged  and  couldn't 
see  the  lady,  but  to  my  surprise  she  came  up  and  entered 
my  room  before  1  had  time  to  lock  the  door  in  her  face. 

"  'I  have  come,  Miss  Richardson,'  began  the  artful 
little  Beast,  '  knowing  that  you  are  a  friend  of  Miss 
Meadows,  to  ask  you  to  use  your  influence  with  her  to 
warn  her  against  receiving  the  attentions  of  Mr.  Tom 
Burton.  He  is  engaged  to  me,  and  if  he  does  not  fulfil 


"  ALL'S   WELL   THAT   ENDS    WELL."  491 

his  promise  of  marriage,  I  shall  bring  a  suit  against  him 
for  damages. ' 

"  I  listened,  as  you  may  suppose,  knowing  what  I  did, 
with  perfect  astonishment  to  this  declaration  of  the 
brazen  little  huzzy.  She  must  have  perceived  the  look 
of  surprise  on  my  face,  for  she  said  : 

"  *  You  seem  to  be  overwhelmed,  Miss  Richardson.  1 
have  stated  nothing  to  you  but  facts,  and  I  have  come 
in  the  interest  of  Miss  Meadows,  whom  I  desire  to  spare 
the  shame  of  being  mixed  up  in  the  affair. ' 

"  Then  1  broke  out  on  her. 

"  i  Yes,  madam,'  I  said,  '  I  am  astounded  at  your 
effrontery  in  daring  to  come  to  me  with  such  false  pre- 
tences in  your  heart.  You  bring  a  suit  for  breach  of 
promise  !  You,  a  married  woman  !  Why  didn't  you 
bring  your  husband,  the  Cuban,  with  you  ? ' 

"  '  I'm  not  married  ! '  she  exclaimed.  '  It's  a  false- 
hood.' 

"  '  You  are  married,'  I  said,  with  as  much  calmness  as 
I  could  command,  though  I  was  dying  to  take  the  little 
Beast  by  the  shoulders  and  put  her  out  of  the  room, 
6  for  I  saw  you  at  Fire  Island  walking  with  him,  and 
heard  him  call  you  his  wife,  and  you  trying  to  get  him 
to  promise  to  go  away.  How  much  did  you  give  him  to 
go  in  order  that  you  might  carry  out  more  effectually 
your  schemes  against  Mr.  Burton  ?  Was  it  ten  thousand 
dollars  ?  It  was  not  enough.  Give  him  more,  and  try 
your  low  wiles  on  some  other  man.  Him  you  will  never 
get,  for  lie's  going  to  marry  Miss  Meadows. ' 

"  I  thought  1  might  safely  venture  to  make  this  last 
statement." 

The  reading  of  the  letter  was  interrupted  for  a  moment 
by  the  Hon.  Tom  after  his  usual  method. 


492  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  i  Well,'  continued  Rachel,  reading,  '  I  wish  you 
could  have  seen  the  effect  produced  by  my  words.  She 
collapsed  at  once.  Her  face  became  as  purple  as  a  piece 
of  pickled  cabbage,  and  I  thought  she  was  going  to  have 
a  fit.  She  didn't,  however,  but  she  broke  down  into  a 
paroxysm  of  hysterical  sobbing — part  of  which  I  am  sure 
was  intentional  exaggeration — and  then  declared  that  she 
would  give  up  all  her  horrid  plots  provided  I  would 
keep  quiet  about  my  information. ' 

"  I  insisted,  however,  that  you  and  Mr.  Burton  should 
be  told,  and  that  as — after  putting  you  on  your  guard — 
it  was  none  of  my  business,  the  affair,  so  far  as  I  was  con- 
cerned, should  go  no  farther.  I  added,  however,  that  as  to 
the  giving  up  of  her  nefarious  designs,  she  might  do  as  she 
pleased,  and  that  I  supposed  she  was  not  going  to  endeavor 
to  force  a  marriage  which,  if  she  succeeded  in  obtaining, 
would  lead  to  her  incarceration  in  Sing  Sing  for  bigamy. 

u  Then  she  left  me  ;  but  in  the  afternoon,  on  her  way 
back  to  New  York,  she  stopped  at  the  "Watson  House 
to  get  dinner,  and  took  the  occasion  to  introduce  me  to 
her  husband.  He  is  bad  enough,  but  he  is  better  than 
she  is,  as  I  said  when  I  first  saw  them  together.  She 
has  concluded,  so  she  said,  to  live  with  her  husband,  and 
to  have  him  take  charge  of  her  abattoir.  He  doesn't 
keep  a  cigar-shop  in  the  Bowery,  neither  is  he  the  door- 
keeper of  a  gambling-saloon.  He  is  something  between 
both — that  is,  he  is  a  billiard-marker,  but  not  such  a 
bad  fellow  as  you  might  take  him  to  be  from  what  you 
know  of  him.  He  has  better  manners  than  she  has,  and 
fully  as  much,  if  not  more,  principle.  So,  my  dear  child, 
the  Senora  Billy  Mendez — it  ought  to  be  Mendax — passes 
out  of  your  life,  and  the  story  of  '  Beauty  and  the  Beast ' 
conies  to  its  end. 


"  ALL'S   WELL  THAT  ENDS   WELL."  493 

"  Doubtless  you  are  happy  now,  as  you  deserve  to  be. 
1  shall  soon  be  an  old  woman,  as  I  am  now  an  old  maid, 
but  1  hope  to  live  long  enough  to  see  you  grow  in  happi- 
ness and  in  every  good  and  perfect  gift.  Oh,  my  dar- 
ling, if — but  1  am  wandering  from  my  subject.  Good- 
by.  Give  my  love  to — 1  scarcely  know  yet  what  to  call 
him,  and  I  shall  therefore  give  him  the  name  you  gave 
him,  '  dear  Tom  ! ' 

("  You  angel  !"  exclaimed  the  honorable  gentleman, 
kissing  the  tears  from  Rachel's  eyes.  "  Wiiat  a  brute 
I've  been.") 

"  And  think  of    me  always,"  read  Rachel,  sobbing 
now  with  the  excess  of  her  emotion,  "  as  your 
"  Devoted  friend, 

' '  AMELIA   RICHARDSON.  ' ' 

"  Oh,  how  good  she  is  !' '  exclaimed,  Rachel.  "  When 
she's  a  friend  she  is  wholly  one.  And  now,"  she  added, 
"  you  won't  have  to  go  to  New  York." 

"  No,  dear  ;  I  shall  stay  here,  if  only  to  beg  you  to  fix 
the  day  for  our  marriage,  and  to  make  it  as  early  as 
possible." 

"  Oh,  but  1  anr  not  ready,  and  mamma  isn't  here, 
and  she  doesn't  even  know  anything  about  you.  Be- 
sides, I  ought  to  be  married  at  home.  It  isn't  respect- 
able for  a  girl  to  be  married  at  a  place  she's  only  visiting." 

"  Be  married  wherever  you  please,  my  angel,  only  so 
that  it's  before  the  20th  of  December.  Surely,  three 
weeks  are  enough  for  preparations,  and  you  can  write  to 
your  mother  to-night." 

"  1  don't  know,"  rejoined  Rachel.  "  I  shall  have  to 
talk  it  over  with  Mrs.  Moultrie  ;  you  know  I'm  under 
her  care  now.  She's  responsible  for  me." 


494  A   STRONG -MINDED   WOMAN. 

"  Oh,  I  am  ?"  exclaimed  Theodora,  who,  entering  the 
room  at  the  moment,  had  heard  these  last  words.  i  c  And 
this  is  the  way  you  impose  burdens  on  me.  Well,  sir," 
turning  to  Burton,  with  an  assumed  air  of  severity, 
"  what  do  you  mean  by  coming  here  before  you  were 
invited?" 

"  If  you  please,  ma'am,"  said  Burton,  affecting  great 
alarm,  "  1  didn't  come  ;  I  was  fetched." 

"  Oh,  you  were  '  fotched  !  '  By  which  barbarous  ex- 
pression I  suppose  you  mean  that  some  one  brought 
you?" 

"  Yes,  ma'am,  please  ma'am,"  said  Burton,  trem- 
bling like  an  aspen  leaf,  as  though  frightened  out  of  his 
wits. 

"  And  so,  like  another  man,  when  accused  of  a  crime, 
you  lay  it  on  some  one  else  ?  A  woman,  I  suppose,  as 
he  did  ?  And  may  I  ask,"  as  Burton  nodded  his  head  in 
assent,  "  who  was  the  woman  that  brought  you  here  ?" 

Burton  pointed  his  finger  at  Rachel,  who  was  nearly 
exploding  with  the  effort  to  keep  from  laughing,  and  at 
this  gesture  of  her  lover,  accompanied  as  it  was  with  the 
most  ludicrous  expression  of  terror  on  his  face,  could  con- 
tain herself  no  longer,  but  made  the  room  ring  with  her 
merry  peals. 

li  I  found  him,  Mrs.  Moultrie,"  she  managed  at  last 
to  say,  "  sitting  on  a  bench  in  Lafayette  Square,  and 
looking  such  a  pitiable  object,  that  for  common  human- 
ity's sake  I  took  compassion  on  him." 

"  So  I  suppose  you  have  made  up  all  your  differ- 
ences," said  Theodora,  smiling,  "  and  that  my  services 
are  no  longer  needed  ?" 

66  But,  most  gracious  lady,  they  are  needed  now  more 
than  ever,"  said  Burton.  "  That  young  woman,  with 


"ALL'S  WELL  THAT  ENDS  WELL."          495 

the  natural  perversity  of  young  women,  wants  to  marry 
me." 

"Oh,  Tom,"  cried  Rachel,  laughingly,  "what  an 
awfully  vain  fellow  you  are  !  Do  all  young  women  want 
to  marry  you  ?' ' 

"  Don't  interrupt  the  court,  please.  As  I  was  saying, 
that  young  woman,  although  she  wants  to  marry  me,  yet, 
with  the  natural  perversity  of  young  women,  declares 
that  she  requires  time,  and  talks  about  mothers  in  New 
York,  and  not  being  ready,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  as 
if  any  one  of  them,  or  all  put  together,  could  be  set  up 
against  the  awful  fact  that  I'm  going  to  Mexico  on  the 
twentieth  of  next  month.  Now,  most  inestimable  and 
highly  magnificent  sovereign,  won't  you,  in  the  exercise 
of  your  high  mightiness,  do  what  Providence,  perhaps 
from  oversight,  seems  to  have  neglected,  put  a  little  of 
the  milk  of  common-sense  into  her  noddle,  and  tell  her 
that  she  must  be  ready  by  the  nineteenth  at  farthest,  for 
that  otherwise  an  ambassador  will  be  spoiled  ?  For  I 
do  most  solemnly  declare  that  unless  she  marries  me  be- 
fore the  twentieth  I  will  never  set  foot  out  of  this  coun- 
try, and  then  the  Mexican  affair  will  all  go  to — pot." 

"  It  has  been  determined  to-day,"  answered  Theodora, 
"  that  Lalage  and  Mr.  Tyscovus  are  to  be  married  on 
the  eighteenth.  Now,  Mr.  Burton,  if  you  will  kindly 
take  yourself  off  and  allow  Miss  Meadows  and  myself  to 
talk  the  matter  over,  I'll  see  what  I  can  do  for  you." 

"  I  will  go  instantly.  I  leave  my  cause  in  your  hands, 
conscious  that  I  have  an  advocate  capable  of  softening 
the  most  obdurate  heart.  Good-by,"  he  continued, 
shaking  them  each  by  the  hand.  "  I'll  look  in  again  in 
half  an  hour. ' ' 

"  Half  an  hour  !"  exclaimed  Theodora.    "  Was  there 


496  A   STKONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

ever  such  a  man  !  Do  you  think  that  such  an  important 
matter  can  be  settled  in  half  an  hour  ?  Come  back  to 
dinner  at  seven,  and  then,  as  the  advertisements  say, 
'  you  may  hear  of  something  to  your  advantage.'  " 

He  laughed  and  left  the  room.  Need  it  be  said  that 
Theodora  argued  his  cause  so  eloquently  that  the  "  ob- 
durate heart  "  was  mollified,  and  that  when  he  came  to 
dinner  it  was  settled  that  there  should  be  a  double  mar- 
riage in  old  St.  John's  Church  on  the  eighteenth,  and  a 
quiet  wedding-breakfast  afterward  at  Mrs.  Moul trie's 
Washington  home.  In  other  respects  it  was  decided,  as 
more  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  parties  most 
concerned,  that  there  should  be  no  magnificence. 

Congress  had  met,  Moultrie  had  been  placed  on  sev- 
eral important  committees,  chief  among  them  being  that 
on  "  Ways  and  Means."  He  soon  found,  however,  that 
it  was  impossible  to  effect  any  important  modification  of 
the  tariff,  even  in  the  one  matter  of  reducing  the  duties 
on  raw  materials.  He  prepared  a  bill,  however,  provid- 
ing for  such  reductions,  but  it  went  to  the  committee, 
and  then  it  was  killed,  only  one  member  besides  himself 
voting  in  its  favor.  The  Hon.  Tom  was,  however,  more 
successful  with  his  bill.  He  had  succeeded  in  getting  a 
prominent  member  to  adopt  a  draft,  which  he  had  sub- 
mitted, providing  for  a  restoration  of  the  duty  on  plate- 
glass  to  its  previous  rate.  Moultrie  did  not  oppose  this 
measure,  for  he  was  intelligent  enough  to  perceive  that 
in  the  present  condition  of  the  industry  it  was  wise  to 
afford  it  protection.  The  bill  was  reported  favorably  by 
the  committee,  and  passed  the  House  among  the  first 
measures  acted  upon  by  that  body. 

The  Moultries  had  moved  into  their  house.  Rachel 
had  made  a  trip  to  New  York,  escorted  by  the  Hon. 


"  ALL'S   WELL  THAT  ENDS   WELL."  497 

Tom,  and  had  returned,  bringing  her  mother  with  her, 
at  Theodora's  request,  and  all  the  paraphernalia  she  con- 
sidered necessary  for  her  wedding  and  for  use  during 
her  anticipated  absence  in  Mexico.  Miss  Richardson 
had  announced  her  intention  of  being  present,  and  had 
been  invited  to  stay  with  the  Moultries.  Burton  had 
given  his  lecture  in  Boston  with  great  eclat. 

Tyscovus  had  made  one  speech  in  the  House,  and  it 
had  attracted  attention  as  containing  the  most  practical 
suggestions  relative  to  the  Indian  question  that  had  yet 
been  made.  He  advocated  the  domiciliation  and  educa- 
tion of  the  Indians,  and  the  prohibition  of  the  alienation 
of  the  land  that  each  head  of  a  family  was  to  receive  in 
fee-simple,  and  in  an  amount — large  enough  in  any  case 
— proportioned  to  the  number  of  his  children.  They 
were  also  to  be  taught  trades,  so  that  they  would  not  be 
altogether  an  agricultural  population. 

After  the  wedding  he  and  his  wife  were  to  reside 
with  the  Moultries  till  his  return,  some  time  in  the  sum- 
mer, to  the  elegant  home  he  had  built  on  the  butte,  which 
had  become  so  dear  to  them  both.  His  political  pros- 
pects were  excellent.  It  was  quite  certain  that  Colorado 
would  be  admitted  into  the  Union  in  the  course  of  a 
couple  of  years,  and  that  he  would  be  one  of  the  first 
senators  from  the  new  State. 

Lai's  entrance  into  "Washington  society  had  caused 
such  a  flutter  among  young  army  and  navy  officers  and 
diplomatic  functionaries,  that  the  like  of  it  had  never 
before  been  witnessed  in  the  Capital.  Some  points  in 
her  personal  history  had  gotten  out,  and  thus  served  to 
make  her  still  further  the  object  of  attention.  Her 
beauty  was  considered  to  be  somewhat  phenomenal,  even 
in  that  city  of  beautiful  women,  and  when  she  visited 


498  A    STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

the  Houses  of  Congress,  as  she  did  with  Theodora  nearly 
every  day,  she  was  at  once  surrounded  by  a  circle  of 
young  and  old — honorable  senators  and  representatives, 
with  a  sprinkling  of  diplomatists,  who  seemed  to  be 
spellbound  by  her  beauty  and  vivacity.  Not  even  the 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that  she  was  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried served  to  keep  them  away.  It  was  an  education  in 
aesthetics  to  look  at  her. 

Tyscovus  found  that  his  position  in  Washington  society 
was  well  assured,  mainly  by  the  knowledge  which  several 
high  representatives  of  European  governments  had  of 
him  and  of  his  antecedents.  Thus  the  Russian,  the  Ger- 
man, the  Austrian,  and  the  British  ministers  were  well 
acquainted  with  his  name  and  with  the  important  place 
that  his  family  had  occupied  in  the  history  of  Poland. 
Although  he  was  well  known  to  be  in  favor  of  the 
nationalization  of  Poland,  the  relations  between  him  and 
the  Russian  Government  were  friendly  enough,  and  they 
were  put  upon  a  still  better  footing  when  it  became 
known  that  he  was  about  to  wed  a  daughter  of  an  old 
and  distinguished  Polish  house. 

Theodora  had  made  her  mark  in  Washington  life. 
She  had  had  several  dinners  and  receptions.  At  the 
former  some  of  the  most  remarkable  men  and  women 
of  the  day — persons  distinguished  for  their  cleverness  in 
some  one  or  more  directions — and  the  latter  were  crowded 
by  the  best  of  those  people  living  at  the  Capital  who 
delight  in  such  affairs. 

Miss  Richardson  arrived  from  New  York  the  day  be- 
fore the  double  wedding  was  to  take  place.  Her  play 
had  had  several  rehearsals,  and  it  was  announced  for  pro- 
duction early  in  January.  Her  views  relative  to  woman's 
rights  had  not  undergone  any  change,  but  she  was  be- 


"  ALL'S   WELL  THAT   ENDS   WELL."  499 

ginning  to  lose  faith  in  her  sex,  so  far  as  their  desire  for 
additional  rights  was  concerned.  She  had  heen  much 
struck  by  a  little  speech  that  Moultrie  had  made  at  din- 
ner, when  the  subject  had  been  introduced  by  her,  in  the 
course  of  which  she  had  made  the  remark  that  she  was 
beginning,  to  despair  of  her  sex. 

"  Depend  upon  it,"  he  said,  "  that  the  woman 's-rights 
movement  is  all  wrong,  so  far  as  it  places  any  blame  on 
man  for  the  lack  of  facilities  for  educating  women  that 
undoubtedly  exists.  The  reproach  rests  with  women. 
They  do  not  want  superior  education  as  a  sex.  When 
they  do  they  will  get  it,  for  then  they  will  take  sufficient 
interest  in  the  matter  to  do  something  more  than  talk 
about  being  oppressed  by  man.  There  are  plenty  of 
rich  women  in  the  world.  There  are  women  in  New 
York  wealthy  enough  to  found  a  complete  university, 
and  scarcely  miss  the  money.  Why  don't  they  do  it  ? 
Because  they  don't  care  whether  women  have  higher 
education  or  not.  There  have  been  many  female  sover- 
eigns in  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world.  Did  any  one 
ever  hear  of  a  university  for  women  being  founded  by 
them  ?  Now,  it  seems  to  me  that  instead  of  denouncing 
men  for  not  changing  the  system  of  education  that  they 
have  found  by  experience  is  best  for  men,  so  as  to  take 
women  into  their  colleges  and  universities,  they  should 
try  to  lead  the  rich  women  up  to  the  proper  point. 
Providence  helps  those  who  help  themselves.  When 
women  are  in  earnest  in  this  matter,  they  will  have  all 
the  educational  facilities  they  need,  just  as  when  they 
want  to  vote  and  hold  public  offices  they  will  do  so.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  they  don't  want  higher  education,  and 
they  don't  want  to  vote." 

"  I  am  really  afraid  you  are  right,"  said  Miss  Richard- 


500  A   STRONG-MINDED   WOMAN. 

son.  "  It  seems  impossible  to  arouse  sufficient  enthu- 
siasm in  the  sex  to  inaugurate  a  determined  contest. 
The  great  mass  of  women  are  indifferent.  And  then 
even  the  best  workers,  like  Mrs.  Moultrie  and  Rachel, 
desert  the  cause  when — " 

"  Oh,  Miss  Richardson,"  exclaimed  Theodora,  "  don't 
place  me,  please,  among  those  who  have  proved  faith- 
less." She  exchanged  glances  with  Moultrie  as  she 
spoke. 

"  Certainly,  my  dear,"  he  said,  as  though  in  answer 
to  an  inquiring  look. 

"  Tell  Mary,"  said  Theodora,  addressing  Francois, 
"  to  go  to  my  boudoir  and  bring  me  a  letter  that  she  will 
find  on  the  desk." 

In  a  few  moments  the  letter  was  placed  in  Theodora's 
hands. 

"  It  is  addressed  to  you,  Miss  Richardson,"  said  Theo- 
dora. "  I  had  intended  to  give  it  to  you  to-morrow, 
when  our  two  girls  are  to  be  married,  and  I  am  afraid 
you  will  find  it  dated  the  eighteenth.  That  is  a  little 
fiction  excusable  under  the  circumstances,  for  the  letter 
was  written  several  days  ago." 

Miss  Richardson  took  it.    "  Shall  I  read  it  ?"  she  said. 

"  Yes  ;  there  are  no  strangers  among  us  ;  and  perhaps 
our' friends  will  excuse  you." 

It  was  very  short.  It  merely  announced  that  Theo- 
dora Moultrie  intended  to  give  to  a  university  for  the 
education  of  women  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  whenever  an  act  of  incorporation  was 
obtained  ;  and  in  five  years  to  give  a  like  sum  additional 
thereto,  provided  if  within  that  period  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  should  have  been  subscribed  by  others. 

"  You  will  have  something  to  do,"  said  Theodora,  as 


"  ALL'S    WELL   THAT  ENDS   WELL."  501 

the  letter  dropped  from  Miss  Richardson's  hands — and 
that  lady  looked  the  picture  of  surprised  delight — "  in 
getting  the  half  million.  I  think  we  shall  find  out  now 
whether  women  care  for  higher  education  or  not." 

"  I  am  unable  to  thank  you,"  murmured  Miss  Rich- 
ardson, scarcely  above  her  breath.  "  My  heart  is  too 
full,  but  you  know  all  I  would  say.  Oh,  if  there  were 
more  like  you,  how  different  the  position  of  women  would 
be!" 

"  Yes,  it  might  be  different,  but  I  am  not  sure  that  it 
would  be  better.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  over-education 
for  women  as  well  as  for  men,  and  the  point  is  sooner 
reached  with  us  than  with  the  other  sex.  However,  1 
should  like  to  try  the  experiment  on  a  small  scale.  I 
make,  as  you  see,  but  two  conditions,  and  that  is  that 
the  instruction  shall  be  free,  and  that  the  university  shall 
not  bear  the  name  of  any  living  person." 

And  then  the  18th  of  December  came.  The  little 
church  was  crowded.  There  were  no  bridesmaids.  The 
two  grooms,  each  with  his  best  man — Count  Stephen 
Niemcewicz,  who  had  come  to  Washington  to  pass  the 
winter,  and  who  was  an  old  friend,  with  Tyscovus  ;  and 
Brevet  Major- General  James  Madison  Rowley,  of  the 
United  States  Army,  with  Burton.  The  bridal  party  en- 
tered the  church  at  eleven  o'clock  precisely  to  the  strains 
of  the  wedding  march  of  Lohengrin — Lai,  the  loveliest 
woman — so  every  one  said — that  had  ever  been  inside  of 
that  church,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  her  father,  and  followed 
by  her  mother  and  Dr.  Willis,  who  had  come  all  the  way 
from  Hellbender  to  be  present.  Then  came  Rachel, 
scarcely  less  beautiful  than  Lai,  escorted  by  her  uncle, 
Professor  Meadows,  of  the  Naval  Academy,  who  was  to 
give  the  bride  away,  and  followed  by  her  mother  and 


502  A   STRONG-MIKDED   WOMAN. 

Miss  Richardson.  The  two  grooms  advanced  to  meet  the 
procession,  and  then  the  party  stood  in  front  of  the  chan- 
cel, and  the  impressive  service  that  was  to  unite  them 
began. 

A  more  distinguished  assemblage  it  would  have  been 
difficult  to  get  together.  The  President,  and  most  of  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet ;  senators,  representatives,  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  army  and  navy  offi- 
cers, men  and  women  distinguished  in  social,  scientific, 
literary,  and  artistic  life,  were  there.  Every  one  within 
hearing  wished  to  see  how  Eachel  would  reply  to  the 
question  in  regard  to  her  obedience  to  her  future  hus- 
band ;  but  there  was  no  evasion,  no  shunning  of  the 
words  "I  will."  Her  freedom  had  gone,  her  slavery 
had  begun  ;  she  had  become  the  bond- woman  of  a  man. 
So  thought  two  or  three  advanced  agitators.  As  to 
Rachel,  she  was  quite  sure  that  the  happiness  of  her  life 
was  linked  with  that  of  the  man  who  stood  by  her  side, 
and  who  had  promised  to  love,  to  cherish,  and  to  cleave 
unto  her  so  long  as  they  both  should  live.  She  had  all 
the  rights  she  wanted. 

And  Lai.  You  may  be  sure,  reader,  that  there  was  no 
faltering  on  her  part.  Her  lover  to  her  was  almost  a 
god.  What  she  was  she  owed  to  him  more  than  to  any 
one  else  in  all  the  world,  and  yet  the  greater  part  of  his 
influence  had  been  of  that  quiet,  passive,  though  not  less 
powerful  kind  that  every  good  man  exerts  upon  those 
with  whom  he  is  thrown  into  association. 

The  double  ceremony  was  over  ;  the  organ  pealed 
forth  a  gorgeous  melody  ;  friends  rushed  forward  with 
their  congratulations,  eager  to  be  among  the  first  to  say 
"  Mrs.  Tyscovus"  and  u  Mrs.  Burton."  The  eyes  of 
both  brides — as  are  the  eyes  of  most  brides  upon  such 


"  ALL'S   WELL  THAT  ENDS   WELL."  503 

occasions — were  filled  with  tears,  and  as  they  walked  out 
of  the  church,  leaning  on  the  arms  of  their  respective 
husbands,  the  curiously  impertinent  pressed  forward  to 
catch  a  glimpse  of  their  faces.  Then  they  entered  the 
two  carriages  that  were  to  take  them  to  Moultrie's  to 
breakfast,  to  which  a  goodly  company  had  been  invited. 
After  that  they  were  going  to  New  York  in  a  special 
train. 

As  the  first  carriage,  containing  Tyscovus  and  his  wife, 
was  driven  rapidly  out  of  the  crowd  that  had  assembled 
about  the  church,  their  eyes  met.  Neither  spoke  a  word, 
but  she  took  her  husband's  hand  and  raised  it  to  her  lips. 

"  God  bless  you,  my  darling  !"  said  the  Hon.  Tom, 
as  his  carriage  got  out  of  the  crowd.  "  May  you  never 
regret  this  day.  You're  not  sorry  you  married  me,  are 
you,  my  Beauty  ?" 

"  Not  yet,  Tom,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Burton,  as  she  laid 
her  head  on  his  shoulder,  "  and  I  don't  believe  1  ever 
shall  be,  even  if  I  live  a  thousand  years.  But  my  lec- 
tures '  On  the  Position  of  Woman  Outside  Christianity,' 
they  will  never  be  begun,  will  they  ?" 

"  Well,  not  in  that  form  exactly,  my  dear  little  wife, 
but  doubtless  you'll  lecture  me  sometimes." 


THE    END.     / 

(    UNIVERSITY 

. 


, 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


FEB    919671 

JN  STACKS 

"      JAN  26  1967 

p-..-  '-'     "   ••"•'. 

MAR    >'67-2M 

LOAN  DEPT. 

AFg2  2J984 

I 

LD  21A-60m-7,'66 

(G4427slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


-ffi 


